The Plan of the Elements Part III
by Jade of Purple
Summary: Summary: 3rd and final installment to ‘The Plan of The Elements’.Can be read alone, there is a recap.With the unexpected arrival of an old lover, tension builds among Xena and Ares. Then the release of Dahak threatens mankind, As Ares is left for dead.
1. Default Chapter

"The Plan of the Elements Part III"  
By Purple Jade 

Time Period: This takes place after Ares becomes a god again (season 6). Cyrene is still alive, the whole burning at the stake thing never happened.

Disclaimer: The characters Xena, Ares, Gabrielle, etc. do not belong to me; they are the property of Renaissance Pictures, Studios USA, and MCA/Universal. The Elements however are my creations.

Rated pg-13: for some language and violence

Summary: This is the third and final installment to 'The Plan of The Elements'. (Can be read alone, there is a recap.) With the unexpected arrival of an old lover, tension builds among Xena and Ares. And later the threat of Dahak emerges as death creeps on

Longish but quick recap of what happened.

Prologue: There were four sisters whom possess tremendous power greater than even the gods. The eldest of the sisters Savannah had the power to control fire, the second eldest was Lena whom dominated thunder. The last of the sisters were April and Angel, identical twins with similar personalities; April governed the wind, while Angel ruled the water. The sisters were known by many as The Elements, and dwelled on the Opalachian star. A place where no mountain could reach, no bird could touch, and no mortal could enter. The Elements were the surveyors of mankind and the protectors of life.

Lena was the most kind of heart of The Elements; she would often pay visits down on earth and bring food and money to the needy. On one such visit she was in the form of an elderly woman and was attacked by two thugs. Xena had been there to save her, and for that reason Lena felt, that something needed to be done as a thank you. After returning to the Opalachian star Lena discussed the matter with her sisters, and came to an understanding. They would aid in getting Xena and Ares together. This seemed like a strange way to reward Xena but it was actually only a small part in the bigger scheme of things.

There was a prophecy that a great evil would come and destroy the world, and the only one who can stop it must be filled with wisdom, but young of age, must be highly skilled, but pure of heart, and must be powerful, but not an immortal. With that in mind The Elements set out to fulfill their plan. After convincing Xena, Gabrielle, Eve, and Cyrene that Ares should be given another chance, The Elements then got Xena and Ares to meet together. When it seemed as if the two would not put aside their differences, April took it upon her self to change that. She acquired what she referred to as sprinkle dust, which was a powder that when showered on people would make them calm or in some cases become lust filled and lose control. Paying no attention to the opposition from Savannah, she dropped a pinch of the dust on the arguing warrior princess and war god. This was one of those cases where the receivers lost all control.

Before she knew what had happened Xena woke up in the arms of Ares. Stunned at what occurred, she quickly gathered her belongings and rode away. Knowing that as a result of this incident Xena would try to avoid Ares, Lena had placed a light unseen by the warrior princess, into Xena's stomach as she rode away. Later an unexpected visit from the late King of the Gods Zeus prompts The Elements to bring back the Olympians, for additional help to defeat this great evil. But as a precaution to keep Xena and her children safe from many of the vengeful Olympians, the memory of the twilight of the gods were erased from the mind of all the deities except for Hera, Ares and Zeus.

During a fight April appears invisible to all, and places an arrow covered in dragon snakes venom in the sack of one of the attackers. Who then shoots the very same arrow at Xena's stomach. The arrow leaves no mark, but later Xena discovers what the arrow was covered in. It turned out that dragon snakes venom could speed up the life of a person. After taking enough antidote for one person Xena believes her worries are over, but sometime afterward finds out that she was pregnant and the child had also been infected. After much thought, Xena, Gabrielle and Eve all agree that Ares should at least be given a chance to be in the child's life. The baby is born; it is a girl whom they name Sabrina.

As a result of the venom she was infected with Sabrina would age a year in only two months, but the affects would only last one year. Many of the gods welcome the birth of Sabrina and saw it as a blessing. As gifts for her baptism, Sabrina is given a necklace, which she can use to disappear from place to place. Also she is given a small toy made up of crystals and metal, which when hit with a volt of electricity could turn into any form; and a small demi-god horse, named sky. At the baby's baptism Ares reveals to Xena that he had made a deal with Hades to allow Solan to re-enter the mortal realm. Solan is reunited with his mother and meets his sisters for the first time. He travels with them for a while until he decides to go to the centaur lands, where he meets Serenity.

Gabrielle and Eve soon became more trusting of Ares. And after a confrontation in which Sabrina was abducted, Xena realizes that in order to keep Sabrina safe, she will need Ares' help. A jealous Discord devises a plan to get rid of Xena and Sabrina, but the plan is foiled. When Discord try's one last attempt to kill Xena, Zeus stops her. Ares appears afterwards and thanks Zeus for saving Xena and the others. Xena and Ares later on finally set apart their differences and acknowledge their relationship.

* * *

After years of hate and love, distrust and desire Xena and Ares were finally united as one. Their daughter Sabrina was now six, which meant the effect of the dragon snakes venom that she was infected with, had now worn off leaving her to age normally. Gabrielle and Eve had now accepted Ares as part of the family. All the hate and distrust they had towards him before, was now gone. Zeus and Ares still didn't have exactly a father and son relationship, but they were getting there. Solan later departed with his girlfriend Serenity for reasons he didn't wish to talk about, and decided to keep his mother company. It now seems as if the plan of the Elements was accomplished, however things are not always what they seem. 

The sky was clear with not a cloud in sight, the sun was shining brightly over the trees. Xena and Gabrielle were at their campsite along with Eve and Solan, when suddenly Aphrodite appeared with Sabrina, bearing a gift.

The young girl stood there motionless for a moment with her raven hair flowing along her face and down her back. Her crystal blue eyes shimmered in the glitter of the sunlight. And her skin had a radiant godly glow. Even in her youthful age she had the poise of her mother and the aura of her father. Dressed in her usual dark blue short-sleeved dress, she wore a necklace, which held an unusual pendent, and she was beaming with happiness from head to toe.

"Mommy, we're back" The young girl said, smiling.

"Hi sweet heart" Xena replied, as she walked to Sabrina whom was holding something behind her.

"Guess what, I have a present for you"

"Oh really, what is it?"

"Here you go" The child replied, handing her mother something wrapped in cloth.

Xena opened up the fabric and inside was a beautiful long shelved, off the shoulder, powder blue dress.

"Do you like it mommy?"

"Yes, I absolutely love it" Xena replied, hugging her daughter.

"Good then you won't mind wearing it right now" Aphrodite said.

"Now is not a good time, I have a lot of things to do. Plus I don't want to rein it" Xena replied, lying through her teeth.

"Come on Xena, this is a gift from your youngest daughter. You don't want to break her little heart, now do you?" Aphrodite asked, with a wickedly cheerful grin.

"Please mommy, pretty please" Sabrina begged, putting her hands together.

"Okay I'll wear it, but only for awhile, I want to save it for something special. Deal?" Xena asked.

"Deal. Now can we go to the market place, remember you promised?" Sabrina asked.

"Alright then lets go. I guess I won't have time to change, so I'll wear the dress later"

"Oh, don't worry about it, I've got you covered" Aphrodite said, with a big smile.

In the blink of an eye Xena was now wearing the powder blue dress.

"Thanks" Xena said, sarcastically.

"Anytime" Aphrodite replied, with a giggle before disappearing.

* * *

Xena and Sabrina then made their way to the market place. As they were looking around, a man a few yards from them, glanced their way. He stood there not moving for a moment: shocked by the sight of the raven-haired woman, whose heavenly colored blue dress hugged the every curve of her body. He felt as if his heart had skipped a beat as he watched her hair sway along side her face, as if it was dancing to the rhythm of the wind. 

"Xena" He whispered, as he then tried to make his way to her.

But suddenly a cart pulled in front of him, blocking his path. When the cart finally moved they were gone. The man began looking in each direction, but no luck. He gave up and headed to a near by tavern, confused about whether he had really seen her, or whether it was just his imagination. He was sitting at a table quietly contemplating his thoughts when a young man came and sat down beside him.

"Hercules there you are" The young man said.

"What?" Hercules replied.

"You alright?"

"Yeah Evander, I 'm just fine"

"You sure, cause you look like you've just seen a ghost" Evander said.

"I think I did"

"What are you talking about?"

"I thought I saw an old friend of mine, Xena. But she passed away a long time ago. I started hearing stories that she was still alive. But if that were true then she would have greatly aged by now, the woman I saw didn't look as if she had a wrinkle on her. Plus she was with a small child. It couldn't have possibly been her" Hercules replied, with a sad expression.

Sitting behind Hercules and Evander was an elderly man, who over heard their conversation. The elderly man turned around, and with a piercing laugh called their attention.

"That was Xena alright" The elderly man said, with a chuckle.

"Are you sure about that?" Hercules asked.

"As sure as the sky is blue. Xena's alive; the stories you heard were true. As for the little child with her, that was probably her daughter"

"Eve right?"

"Oh no, Eve is all grown up now. The child you saw was Sabrina, she's the daughter of Xena and Ares" The elderly man answered, with a few coughs.

Hercules jumped out of his seat.

"What! Are you telling me that Xena had a child with Ares, Ares the god of war" Hercules said, in disbelief.

"He's the only Ares I know"

"Sorry old timer, but you must be confused. The Xena I know would never do such a thing"

"Well she did, whether you like it or not"

"Do you know where I can find her?"

"You'll find her in the woods near the lake. Just follow the main road, you can't miss her"

"Thank you" Hercules said, before leaving along with Evander.

"No thank you" The elderly man said to him self.

Once Hercules and Evander were out of sight April; one of the Elements appeared beside the elderly man.

"Very nice" April said.

Suddenly the elderly man transformed into Lena, whom was also one of the Elements.

"I know" Lena replied.

"By the way, what is it with you and old people?"

"Hey it got the job done didn't it?"

"Yeah whatever lets just go"

Without a moments notice they were gone.

* * *

Meanwhile Xena and Sabrina had stumbled on someone in need of help; a female thief was attacking a young woman. Xena told Sabrina to go hide underneath one of the merchant tables. Xena hadn't brought any of her weapons, but by the looks of the thief she doubted she'd need any. With one flip she landed alongside the two women. She elbowed the thief in the face, causing her to release the other woman. Xena then advised the young woman to quickly leave. 

"How dare you interfere, this was none of your business" The thief said.

"When trash like you try to hurt innocent people, you make it my business" Xena replied.

"I'll make you regret ever saying that" The thief said, as she pulled out a large dagger.

"Then come and get me"

The thief charged at Xena, with the dragger aimed at her heart. It was just an inch away from its target when Xena caught it with one hand. She looked at the thief and smiled, before crushing her hand. When Xena let go of the thief's hand the dagger fell. With a head butt, then a low kick the thief plunged hard to the ground. Xena then picked up the dagger.

As she did so, Morrigan arrived to witness this raven-haired woman picking up a dagger while a helpless woman lied on the ground in front of her. Morrigan drew her sword and began attacking Xena. Xena was caught by surprise, wondering what this woman was doing, as she dodged and avoided the steel blade, which swung at her. As the two women fought the thief ran away.

Morrigan proved to be skilled, but not skilled enough. In minutes Xena had taken her sword from her, and at this moment was pointing it at her throat. Looking at the red headed woman before her, whom appeared to be older than her few wrinkles and stands of gray claimed she was, Xena was unsure of what to make of this.

"What are you waiting for, go ahead kill me. Isn't that what you do?" Morrigan asked, panting lightly as her disheveled short red hair fluttered around her.

"You've got it all wrong. I wasn't going to kill her"

"Fine then. What were you doing?"

"She's a thief, and was attacking another woman when I saw them. I merely stopped her" Xena answered, as she put the sword down and handed it to Morrigan, whom in response snatched it from her. "You don't look like you're from around here"

"That's because I'm not"

"My name is--" Xena started to say, but was interrupted by Brigid, Morrigan's daughter, as she called for her mother.

Without so much as a word Morrigan walked away, heading in the direction of the early twenty-year-old blonde whom wore a simple green dress. Sabrina then popped her head out from underneath the table, Xena signal for her to come out. After the little run in that just happened, Xena and Sabrina headed back to camp.


	2. One big happy family?

When we last saw Hercules he was fighting his father in order to save Xena and her unborn child. After he killed Zeus, Hercules and Xena went their separate ways. When Hercules had found out about Xena, Gabrielle, and Eve's death, he along with Iolaus were devastated. Later on when some time had past Hercules and Iolaus finally came to terms with it. 

They continued their travels and later bumped into Nebula, Iolaus was at last reunited with his one true love. Soon afterward Iolaus and Nebula were married, and expecting their first child. Hercules was happy for his best friend, but he now felt alone. He decided to go back to Ireland in search of Morrigan. After he finally found her he chose to stay with her and her daughter Brigid.

Hercules was afraid that if he asked Morrigan to marry him that she would face the same fate as his prior wives. But after what seemed like a years Hercules at last asked Morrigan to be his wife. She naturally accepted, and soon after that they were married. It would be another number of years before they would have their first child, Adam whom is now about 7 years old.

Evander is Hercules' nephew, Nemesis Evander's mother past away a few years ago. When Nemesis had become terrible ill she sent word for Hercules. On her deathbed she asked Hercules to watch over Evander for her. She feared that Evander would soon become like his father, and that was the last thing she wanted to happen. Since then Evander has been traveling with Hercules and his family.

* * *

Hercules and Evander later found Morrigan, Brigid, and Adam, then headed to Xena's camp. Xena and Morrigan never formally met, at the time they were fighting neither had any idea who the other was.

Hercules and his family made they way closer and closer to their destination. At this instance only Xena, Gabrielle, Eve, Solan, and Sabrina were there. Xena began hearing sounds of footsteps; she pulled out her sword ready to fight. The bushes started rustling, and out came Hercules. Setting down her sword, Xena smiled at the gracefully aged half god, whose golden brown hair and strands of gray drifted down to his shoulders. As his blue eyes, which were surrounded by several wrinkles, glistened in the evening light.

"Hercules!" Xena said, with a surprised tone, and then paused. "What are you doing here?" Xena asked, bewildered.

"I could ask you the same thing" Hercules replied, giving her a big embrace.

"Hercules is that you?" Gabrielle asked, walking up to him.

"Gabrielle how are you doing?" Hercules asked, as he embraced her, before continuing. "What happened I thought both of you were dead?"

"Well that's a long story" Gabrielle replied.

"Is there anyone with you? Cause I'm sure I heard more than one pair of foot steps" Xena said.

"Yes there is" Hercules replied.

Then from behind the bushes came Morrigan, Brigid, Adam, and Evander. Xena and Morrigan's eyes locked on each other, as shock appeared on their faces.

"You!" Morrigan said, with a confused expression.

Xena just looked back at her and said nothing.

"Have you two met?" Hercules asked.

"Kind of" Xena replied.

"She's the woman I fought with in the market place" Morrigan said.

Everyone was silent for a moment.

"It was a big misunderstanding, no hard feelings. Right?" Xena asked.

"Right" Morrigan replied, almost sarcastically.

"Okay ahem… Xena this is Morrigan, my wife. Morrigan this is Xena the old friend of the mine I told you about" Hercules said, uneasily.

"Nice to finally put a name to the face" Morrigan said.

"Like wise" Xena replied.

"And these are our children Brigid and Adam, and over there is my nephew Evander" Hercules said.

Eve along with Solan and Sabrina had walked up behind Gabrielle.

"Nice to met you all, my name is Gabrielle. Behind me is Eve, Solan, and the little one is Sabrina" Gabrielle said, with a welcoming smile.

"Wow the last time I saw you, you were only a few days old, now look at you" Hercules said to Eve.

"Yeah time will do that to you" Eve replied, as she gave him a hug.

The others then greeted each other, as Xena and Morrigan tried to keep their distance from one another.

"So what brings you all here?" Xena asked.

"Well for one I heard rumors that you were still alive, and I just had to come see it for my self… And there was something else I heard, and I am hoping it wasn't true" Hercules replied, his tone now serious.

"What is it?" Xena asked.

"I heard that…that Sabrina is--" Hercules started to say.

But suddenly Ares appeared beside Xena.

"Yes it's true, Sabrina is our child" Ares said.

A wave of rage swept through Hercules, as it also did in Ares. They stared each other dead in the eye. Sensing the tension Xena placed a claming hand on Ares' arm, asking him to back away. Ares took one step back, never letting Hercules out of his sight. That was until someone caught his eye, he turned to face the young man whom was only a few feet from him.

He was maybe in his late twenties, and had a tall medium build. His short curly jet-black hair was combed back, and his dark brown eyes blazed with the same fire as those of Ares. Ares looked at him not saying a word, surprised to see his son Evander face to face.

"Maybe we should go" Hercules said, with a not too pleased voice, while still staring at Ares.

Ares gazed towards Xena, and saw her sadden expression.

"No, I'll go… you can have your little reunion" Ares said, then turned his back to leave.

"Ares" Xena whispered.

Ares turned to her then disappeared. Hercules was happy to say the least, that Ares was gone. But he was still a bit angry, having found out that the woman he once loved is now with one of his worst enemies, his brother.

* * *

Meanwhile on the Opalachian Star, home of the Elements; the place even higher than Mt. Olympus it's self. The Elements were observing the morals and their little quarrels.

"Do you think we should've warned Ares that Hercules was on his way?" Angel asked, with her long flowing raven hair slightly swaying as she turned to her twin.

"Why?" April replied, surprised by her sister's sudden display of remorse.

"Well how do you think he feels? Everything was going great and all a sudden Hercules shows up. And of course Hercules is going to try to come between Xena and Ares, after all they been through. Was it really fair of us to do that to Ares?" The oceanic maiden asked.

"Who cares?" April replied, dismissing the whole idea.

"Since when do you care about anyone's feelings?" Lena questioned her younger sibling.

"Hey I care, I just don't care about any of you, that's all" Angel replied.

"Oh when you say it that way" Lena said, sarcastically.

"But seriously, should we have told him?" Angel again asked.

"Listen he needs to learn how to make the right decisions, we can't always be there holding his hand making sure he doesn't fall" Lena answered.

"Lena's right, Ares has to rely on his self now. It's the only way his relationship with Xena will last. They love each other and I doubt not even Hercules will be able to break them apart" Savannah said.

"Lets just hope Ares doesn't miss up as usual " The wind deity said, with a giggle.

* * *

Back at the campsite Gabrielle and Eve were chatting with Morrigan and Brigid, Sabrina was playing with Adam, while Solan was barely talking with Evander. Xena and Hercules were off taking a little stroll in the woods. Hercules still had some unanswered questions. 

Xena turned to Hercules and caught him staring at her.

"What?" she asked.

"Nothing, just that you still look as beautiful as you did the last time I saw you, and that was more than 25 years ago" The golden haired half god answered, smiling.

"So do you" Xena replied, smiling back.

"Well I can thank the god half of me for that"

"What about Morrigan. Is she also half god?"

"How'd you know?"

"Lucky guess I suppose "

"Look she's really not that bad when you get to know her. You two simply got off to a rocky start, that's all"

"Lets hope so, cause I really don't feel like going at it again" The raven-haired warrior replied, with a soft chuckle.

"To tell you the truth I wouldn't mind seeing that" Hercules said, with a grin.

"I bet you wouldn't" Xena replied, as they both laughing.

It soon became quiet for a second.

"Xena, about this thing with you and Ares, I don't understand how this could have happened" Hercules said, now with a confused yet sad expression.

"I don't know how I can explain it to you. The first time it was as if I couldn't control my self, I didn't realize what I was doing until it was too late. The next thing I knew I was pregnant with Sabrina. At first I was horrified, and didn't believe it. I didn't want Ares to be the father of my child, or at least I thought so. But then he told me that he would try to change, and when I looked into his eyes I could tell he wasn't lying" Xena replied.

"No this has to be one of Ares' tricks, there is no way this could be happening" Hercules said, unwilling to accept it.

"It's not a trick, he really has changed"

"No he hasn't, Ares will always be the same old lying, cheating, heartless bustard he always was" The half god replied, as he began yelling.

"Hercules just give him a chance, please" Xena said, pleading with him as she placed her hand on his shoulder.

Hercules took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, he turned to Xena and his expression softened.

"Xena, I care about you, and I always will no matter what. I just don't want to see you get hurt" Hercules said, calming his voice.

"I won't"

"I hoped you know what your going"

"Just try to give him a chance Hercules, for me" Xena replied, gazing into his eyes.

Hercules took one look into those crystal blue eyes, and he couldn't help but say yes.

"Sure, why not?" Hercules hesitantly said, with a small smile. "You know Sabrina looks just like you"

"Yeah, well I'm hopping that, that's all she gets from me"

"Why would you say that?"

"Now come on Herc. I'm not exactly the best role model there is. The last thing I need is for Sabrina to turn out like me violent, aggressive, and--"

"And a wonderful person, whose filled with love and care. Someone who cares fights wrongs and helps those in need. If that's not a good role model then I'm not sure what is" The golden haired half god replied, with a captivating smile.

"You always were a sweet talker"

"What can I say, it's second nature to me" Hercules replied, and with his arm around her shoulder they made their way back to the camp.

* * *

It was now getting dark; night was fast approaching them. While Xena and Hercules were on their little stroll, Sabrina was occupied with Adam. Sabrina soon found out that Adam was a bit full of him self and had an ego the size of Mt. Olympus.

"So Adam, what do you like to do?" Sabrina asked.

"First of all mortal my name is not Adam" The brown-eyed boy replied.

"Yes it is, your daddy said it was"

"Well it's not"

"Fine then what is it?" Sabrina asked, confused.

"I am Hercule son of Hercules, and I am the strongest child known to mankind"

Sabrina started laughing thinking Adam was joking.

"Hey why are you laughing?" Adam asked, clearly getting mad.

"HERCULE!" Sabrina replied, still laughing at the curly red headed freckled faced boy in front of her.

"Yeah that's my name so what?"

"Oh please, I know your names not Hercule, it's Adam"

"How dare you laugh in the face of Hercule son of Hercules. Have you no idea of how powerful I am? I am a half god, so you better watch what you say to me mortal" Adam said, in an angry tone.

"Who are you calling mortal, I'm a half god like you"

"You are nothing like me. First of all my father is Hercules, the greatest hero there ever was. And my mother is Morrigan the Druid guardian of justice"

"So what my father is Ares a FULL god, and my mother is Xena the greatest WARRIOR AND HERO there ever was" The small raven-haired child replied, raising her voice.

"Oh whatever, my parents can beat your parents any day" Adam said, shoving Sabrina.

"If that's so true how come my mom beat your mom before? … Huh exactly" Sabrina replied, shoving Adam back.

"That doesn't count, my mom was probably just tried or something"

"Yeah right"

"You know what, I'm tried of talking to you pathetic mortal" Adam uttered, before marching off.

Sabrina then stomped her way to Eve and tapped her sister on the shoulder.

"What is it Sabrina?" The curly brown haired young woman questioned.

"Adams annoying me" Sabrina answered, with an irritated face.

"Come on he can't be that bad"

"He's crazy, he thinks his name is Hercule the strongest kid known to man or something"

"Now Sabrina you have to be polite, Adam may be a little annoying but he is still our guest"

"Okay so how about you go play with him, it'll be fun" The small child replied, with a forged smile.

"Sabrina just go, and try to ignore him, alright"

Sabrina sighed, and pouted her lips.

"Fine I'll play with him" She replied, then turned and began making her way to Adam.

For the minutes that followed all Adam talked about was how strong he was, and how one day he was going to rule the world. This kid was obviously a little too full of him self. But at last salvation came when Sabrina spotted Xena and Hercules.

"Mommy!" Sabrina yelled, as she ran to her mother.

"Hey sweet heart" Xena replied, picking her up.

"Don't ever leave me alone with that kid ever again" Sabrina whispered in her mother's ear.

Xena laughed and gave her daughter a kiss on the forehead.

Having been somewhat tired after their eventfully day, Hercules accepted Xena's invitation to stay the night. As everyone was fixing his or her bedrolls Sabrina was feeling a tad gloomy.

"Mommy" Sabrina whispered.

"What's the matter?" Xena asked, kneeling down to her daughter.

"Where's daddy?"

"He's not coming tonight"

"Why? He always stays with us at night time" The young girl spoke, with an unhappy expression.

"I know but tonight we have a lot of people with us, there might not be room"

"Oh" Sabrina said, with sadness in her eyes.

She slowly turned around and walked away. Xena sighed, wondering whether or not she should call Ares. Gabrielle then came up from behind her.

"Everything's about done" The Bard stated.

"That's good" Xena replied.

"Do you know what's wrong with Sabrina she's been moping around all night"

"She wants Ares to be here"

"So why don't you call him?"

"What about Hercules?"

"You said, you talked to him earlier didn't he say he would try"

"Yeah but tonight, that's kind of pushing it don't you think?"

"Just ask him"

"You really think that'll work?"

"Try it, and don't forget to mix a little guilt in with it" Gabrielle said, with a smile.

Xena made a small chuckle, and then went to find Hercules.

"Hercules, Can I ask you something?" Xena asked.

"Go ahead" Hercules answered.

"Would you mind if Ares came here?"

"Came and did what?" Hercules replied, knowing the answer.

"Well, stayed the night"

The golden haired half god sighed and said nothing.

"Hercules come on you said you would try, besides you wouldn't even have to talk to him" The Warrior princess quickly said.

Hercules only nodded.

"So does that mean yes?"

"Yeah… I guess" Hercules answered, doubtful whether this was really a good idea.

Xena along with Sabrina later called Ares, whom was a bit cautious about being there, and Xena understood why. After Sabrina had embraced her father, Xena told her to go get ready for bed. The raven-haired warrior turned to the god; she could tell he was a little nervous. Ares seemed like an animal being hunted; looking around in every direction as if someone was after him.

"Well what are you going to do?" Xena asked.

"Going to do about what?" Ares replied.

"About Evander, Ares don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about"

"I'm not going to do anything"

"Why?"

"What can I do?"

"For starters you could talk to him"

"And what exactly would I say to him? How about, hi I'm the father that abandon you when you were a baby" The War god said sarcastically, and obviously getting upset.

"Ares now you know that's not what really happened"

"Yeah but he doesn't know that"

"Just talk to him, it can't possibly make things between you two any worst"

He just nodded in agreement.

"And one more thing, it would help deal with the tension around here if you could attempt to be on your best behavior with Hercules" the Warrior Princess uttered, with a smile.

"I'll think about it"

"You do that"

As Xena began to walk away Ares gently grabbed her arm, turning her to face him then wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer.

"I was thinking maybe we could make a deal" He said, with a devilish smirk.

"What kind of deal?" Xena asked, curiously as she could feel the beat of his heart against her body.

"Well if I try to be on my best behavior, what will you do for me?"

"Do you have anything in mind?" Xena replied, with a smirk as she glided her hands slowly up his arms and to the back of his neck.

"Oh I think we'll be able to figure out something" Ares said, in a seductive voice.

He then drew her in for a kiss, which started out passionately but was soon interrupted. Xena pulled away from Ares to find Hercules looking straight at them, with hurt and disgust written all over his face. Hercules began slowly backing away then turned around and left.

"Hercules" Xena said, in vein.

Xena was about to go after him, when she felt someone holding her on to her. It was Ares, he then whispered in her ear, "Just let him go". Xena sighed and did just that.


	3. Family Feud

Most everyone had fallen asleep. Ares laid on his bedroll beside the fire with his hands underneath his head. Xena had just lied down beside him. She was waiting for Hercules to go to sleep before heading to bed. Xena rested her head and arm on Ares' chest before finally falling asleep. Looking down at his sleeping warrior princess he smiled, could feel the different points of warmth in which her skin met with his. He gazed up at the stars above, and then turned to the fire beside them. He stared into the flames and could see a wide wake Hercules on the other side looking towards him. 

Hercules was looking in Ares' direction, but he wasn't looking directly at Ares. Hercules was staring at Xena; she looked so peaceful as she slept while strands of her raven hair partially covered her face. Hercules made a soft chuckle then remembered whom Xena was laying beside; he then brought his attention to Ares.

Ares could see in the way Hercules looked at Xena that to him she was more than just a friend. And that didn't settle too well with Ares, who felt he had to in his mind 'protect what was his'. In response Ares turned to Xena, he removed his right hand from underneath his head and wrapped it around her. Then moved his left hand and began gently stroking her arm, before entangling his fingers with hers and meeting her hand with his lips.

Ares turned back to Hercules and grinned devilishly. Hercules' eyes became filled with hatred as he stared at the war god in front of him. With nothing he could possibly do he turned to his left to his wife, who had fallen asleep with her back facing to him. He sighed and with a sadden expression closed his eyes for a moment before falling asleep.

* * *

The next morning Sabrina and Adam were off playing, Solan and Evander were wondering about camp separately; and Hercules was talking to Morrigan. While Xena, Gabrielle, and Eve along with Brigid were catching fish in the near by lake for breakfast.

After catching about four fish Xena looked up to see Ares sitting on the ground with his back leaning against a tree. She then walked up to him, carrying a fist full of fish.

"Hope you're hungry" Xena said, as she dropped the fish on top of a piece of cloth before sitting down beside him.

"Can't say that fish is my favorite, but I'm getting use to it" Ares replied, with a smirk.

"So did you think about what I said last night?"

"You mean about my being nice to Hercules?"

"Well that too, but I was talking about Evander"

"Yeah I thought about it" Ares replied, with his head tilted downward.

"And"

"And… I'm still thinking about it" Ares replied, with a sigh.

"Don't think too long, he won't be here forever you know"

"Yeah I know" Ares replied, in a sadden tone.

Xena then grasped his hand in a comforting way. Ares looked up at her and smiled. They gazed into each other's eyes for a moment before breaking out in a small chuckle.

Hercules then approached them and got their attention by clearing his throat. Once Xena realized it was Hercules she quickly let go of Ares' hand. Ares turned to her and gave her a strange look, then got up and walked away. Xena looked back at him confused, and unsure about what had just upset him.

"How could she" Ares mumbled to himself.

He was getting angry and desperately needed to calm down. He walked deeper and deeper into the woods, and then suddenly stopped. Just a small distance from him was Evander, but the young man hadn't noticed him. Ares stood there for a minute wondering whether he should go talk to him, or just turn around and walk away as if he never saw him.

"It's now or never" Ares whispered to himself.

He then made his way to Evander. Hearing the sound of footsteps coming near him Evander rapidly turned around. The two men were silent; both stared into the eyes of the other.

"What do you want?" Evander asked, finally breaking the silence.

"Nothing really, just thought I'd--"

"Just thought you'd what? Come over here and expect me to give you a hug and tell you how great it is to see you" Evander said sarcastically.

"No of course not"

"Fine then what is it?"

"Look I know you don't want anything to do with me, but I figure since we're here we minus well try to make amends"

"You're a couple years too late for that don't you think?"

"Yeah, but it's better late than never"

"Not in this case" Evander replied bitterly.

Ares sighed roughly and said nothing.

"You know what, how dare you think that you can just show up after all these years and try to start acting like my father. The truth is I don't need or want you as a father. I've been doing just fine on my own ever since you abandon my mother and I" The young man said as fire blazed in his eyes.  
"Evander I never abandon you, your mother didn't want me anywhere near you"

"Liar, you never wanted anything to do with me, admit it"

"I'll admit I didn't have the best intentions, but I did want you as my son. Your mother and Hercules fought to keep me away from you" Ares replied, getting defensive.

"No you're lying, my mother would have told me that" Evander said, shaking his head, confused and unwilling to believe Ares.

"Look, I am trying my best here damn it, if you don't want to believe me then fine" Ares replied, raising his voice. He had not meant for it to come out that way, but by the time he realized it, it was too late.

"You know what, why don't you just do me a favor and stay the tatarus away from me" Evander yelled, before walking away. Who does he think he is coming here trying to talk to me after all these years? The young man thought to himself as he made his way farther away from the god of war. I only wish I could make him feel some of the pain and suffering he put my mother and I through. That damn bastard is not my father.

Ares watched as his son disappeared among the trees. Filled with a mixture of anger and hurt Ares made his way back to camp. Xena noticed something was wrong and went to speak to him.

"Where'd you go?" She asked.

"I was talking to Evander" Ares replied.

"What happened?"

"He made it pretty clear that he wanted nothing to do with me" Ares answered, obviously a little troubled.

"You're going to try again… right?"

"No I'm not going to try again. Xena he hates me"

"But--"

"But nothing, look I'm not in the mood for another one of your little lectures" Ares said, then disappeared leaving Xena standing there alone.

* * *

Meanwhile Sabrina was trying to make the best out of a terrible situation. She was again stuck with Adam, or should I say Hercule.

"I'm bored. Isn't there anything fun to do around here?" Adam asked.

"You what to play hide and seek?" Sabrina replied.

"No that's a baby's game" The brown-eyed young boy answered. Then suddenly noticed the unusual necklace, which hung around Sabrina's neck. The pendent on the necklace was round and covered in gold, with a large sapphire stone in the center of it. The stone glimmered and sparkled when the sun's rays would hit it. And for a moment it seemed to transform into a scorching blue fire, which was almost mesmerizing. "That's a weird looking necklace" Adam finally said after staring at the pendent for a minute.

"Yeah I know but it's really cool, it has magical powers"

"Magical powers? Do you really expect me to believe that?"

"It's true. I use it to go from one place to another"

"How?"

"I just image somewhere I want be and I'm there the next second"

"That is so cool. Bring us to Mt. Olympus or something"

"I'm not suppose to use it without asking first"

"See it probably doesn't even work"

"It dose, fine I'll send us over there by that tree, okay?"

Adam nodded and the next instance found him self-standing beside the tree Sabrina had just been pointing to.

"Wow, I want to play with it" Adam said reaching for the pendent.

"No you can't, I'll get in trouble"

"No you won't, I just want to see it for a second. I'll give it back I promise"

"I'm sorry but I can't, but hey I have a bunch of other toys"

"Like what?" Adam replied, in an angry tone.

"I'll be right back" Sabrina answered, as she then ran to retrieve her nap sack.

When she got back, she placed the sack on the ground. Adam grabbed it began rummaging through it.

"Hey be careful don't break anything"

"What's this?" Adam asked, as he pulled out a ball made of crystal, from out of the sack.

"Here let me show you how it works" Sabrina said, as she put her hands together and placed her palms facing up. "Put it in the middle of my hands"

Adam placed the ball of crystal on Sabrina's hands. Sabrina took a deep breath and began staring into it. Suddenly the ball began to levitate and opened up into many tiny crystals then started to form a dragon. Adam's eyes lit up, as the small dragon seemed to come to life. The dragon flew over their heads a few times before landing in Sabrina's hands and returning into a motionless figure.

"Wow that was amazing, how'd you do that?" Adam asked, in astonishment.

"I just concentrated and pictured a dragon"

"Let me try" Adam said, snatching the dragon from Sabrina.

"Wait, it might not work when you do it" Sabrina said, but Adam was no longer listening.

Adam stared at the dragon for a while, then even tried closing his eyes but nothing happened.

"Hey what gives, it's not working" Adam said, in a whiny voice.

"I told you it wouldn't work"

"It's probably not working because it was in a ball before. Turn it back and I bet you I can do it " Adam said, lying best he could.

"Fine I'll turn it back for you, but it still wont make a difference" Sabrina replied, as she took the crystal dragon and turned it back into a ball. Adam again grabbed the crystal ball and began staring into it, but still nothing happened.

"Why isn't it working?" Adam said, frustrated.

"It only works with my powers"

"What powers? I know you're not more powerful than me"

"Of course I'm not" Sabrina replied, sarcastically. "Look I have the power of electricity and that's why the ball works when I hold it, okay"

"Why is it like that?"

"I don't know, that's just the way my uncle made it"

"Well it's a stupid toy" Adam said, before throwing the ball at a tree.

The crystal ball shattered in half. Sabrina gasped then picked up the two halves of her crystal ball, as her eyes began to fill with tears.

"You broke it" Sabrina said, in anger and shock.

"It was just a stupid old toy any way" Adam replied, with no regrets.

"You were just jealous because you couldn't play with it"

"I didn't want that dumb thing, it looks like a baby toy. Only babies play with toys like that, so that means you must be one. Oh no is the little baby going to cry because her toy is broken" Adam replied, teasingly.

"Shut up and leave me alone" Sabrina yelled, then started to walk away.

"Where do you think you're going?" Adam asked, running in front of Sabrina's path.

"I'm going to tell my mommy" Sabrina answered, in a hurt voice.

"You're such a baby"

"No you're the baby, you little cry baby"

"I am not a cry baby" Adam said, shoving Sabrina.

"Stop that"

"What are you going to do about it, you little baby" Adam replied, shoving Sabrina again.

The young girl had, had enough and this time shoved the boy back, forcefully knocking him onto the ground. Adam got up, grabbed a large stick then swung it at her. But Sabrina saw it coming and ducked out of the way, then drop kicked him taking his feet from beneath him. Adam hit the ground hard and scratched his arm on a rock. Sabrina looked down to see Adam crying. She couldn't help but feel a little bad, but at the same time she felt proud of herself. And a small smile could be seen in the corners of her mouth. But it soon quickly vanished as the young red headed boy before her continued to cry.

Xena and the others came running at the sound of Adam's loud sobbing.

"What happened is everything alright?" Xena asked, as she ran up to Sabrina.

"Adam got hurt" Sabrina answered.

"How did this happen?" Morrigan asked Adam, as she helped her child up.

"She kicked me" Adam said, pointing at Sabrina, while still crying.

"Did you kick him Sabrina?" Gabrielle asked.

"Yeah but that was only because he tried to hit me" Sabrina answered, trying to explain.

"Adam is this true?" Hercules asked.

"No. She was calling me names before and I told her to stop but she didn't. Then she kicked me because I said I was going to tell on her" Adam replied, lying through his little teeth.

"No that's not what really happened, he's a liar" Sabrina yelled.

"How dare your daughter accuse my son of lying, when it is obvious that this was all her fault" Morrigan said to Xena.

"Lets not jump to conclusion, we should listen to Sabrina's side of the story first" Hercules quickly said, as he could tell that Xena was about to pounce on Morrigan.

"Why? She already admitted that she kicked him" Morrigan said.

"She said it was only because he tried to hit her" Xena replied.

"You can't honestly believe her, my Adam would never lie"

"That's nice and all, but I know for a fact that Sabrina wouldn't lie either"

"Sabrina tell us what happened" Eve said.

"First we were playing with my crystal ball toy and Adam couldn't make it work, so he threw it at a tree. And it broke in half" Sabrina said, showing them the two halves of the crystal ball in her hands. "Then I got mad and said I was going to tell on him. He started calling me a little baby then he pushed me. I told him to stop but he pushed me again, so I pushed him back and he fell. That's when he got up and tried to hit me with a stick, but I moved out of the way and kicked him. That's what really happened"

"Oh please like we can actually trust her not to lie" Morrigan said, rudely.

"She's not lying" Evander said, coming up beside them.

"What? What are you talking about?" Morrigan asked.

"I saw most of it, and she's telling the truth. Adam did get a stick and swing it at her after she pushed him down to make him leave her alone" Evander answered.

"Whose side are you on?" Morrigan asked, angered.

"No one's" Evander replied.

"Adam is that the way it really happened?" Xena asked.

Adam looked down at the ground and nodded.

"No it couldn't have" Morrigan said, unwilling to admit defeat.

"Adam I think you owe Sabrina an apology" Hercules said.

"I'm sorry" Adam said, in a sad voice.

"It's okay" Sabrina replied, barely able to hide her sigh of relief.

Morrigan turned from them with disgust and walked away. Hercules followed after her.

"Morrigan, wait! Morrigan" Hercules said, trying to catch up to her.

He then ran in front of her causing her to stop.

"Hercules when are we leaving?" Morrigan asked.

"Leaving? What are you talking about?" Hercules replied, confused.

"I don't want to stay here any longer, not with her around" Morrigan answered, with a revolted look.

"Her meaning who, Xena?"

"Yes Xena"

"There's no reason why you two shouldn't get along"

"There's no reason why we should" Morrigan replied, in a bitter tone.

"Morrigan what is this really about?"

Morrigan froze for an instance, as she looked away from Hercules. What was she going to say? How could possibly explain to him how she was feeling, when she wasn't sure her self? She obviously didn't like Xena, but why? Was it because of their fight just the day before? No it couldn't be only that. There was something else, something deeper than that. It had something to do with Hercules. Was she jealous of Xena? Jealous of the fact that Hercules might still love her after all these years.

Morrigan shook at the thought. She then began remembering the look of Hercules' face every time he would talk about Xena. How a glimmer in his eyes would appear at the mention of her name. And how the night before, Xena and Hercules had gone on a long walk and when they returned, they were smiling and laughing as they walked side by side closely. No, snap out of it. Morrigan said over and over in her mind. She suddenly realized that Hercules was looking at her still waiting for a response.

"I just don't like her that's all, I don't need a reason why"

"Yes you do"

Morrigan rolled her eyes and turned her back to him. Hercules sighed, and gently pulled her arm forcing Morrigan to face him.

"Why do we always have to fight like this?" Hercules asked, while gazing into Morrigan's eyes. "Is it really so hard that you won't even try?"

Morrigan's expression turned from anger to remorse, as she realized how childish she was acting. Xena was Hercules' past, she is his future. Morrigan thought to her self. What's the harm in trying to get alone with her. There is point in worrying about something that isn't there.

"Hercules I don't want to fight with you. If you really want us to stay… then we'll stay" Morrigan said, with a half smile.

"Thank you" Hercules replied, then pulled Morrigan in for a kiss. "I knew there was a reason why I married you"

"Oh, you already found your reason that's strange cause I'm still looking for mine" Morrigan said, smiling.


	4. The release of Dahak

After everyone had cooled down things seemed to have calm down for now. As the afternoon began to creep in, Hera and Zeus decided to pay them a visit. Sabrina looked up to see her grandmother and grandfather appearing before her. 

"Grandma and grandpas here" Sabrina yelled, as she ran to hug Hera and Zeus.

"There's my little angel" Zeus said, as he picked up Sabrina.

"Hello to you all" Hera said, as she then greeted Xena, Gabrielle, Eve and Solan.

Hearing the commotion Hercules turned around to find Hera and Zeus. With a not too thrilled expression he walked up next to Xena.

"Hercules it's good to see you son" Zeus said.

Hercules didn't respond.

"Hercules this is your father?" Morrigan asked.

"I'm afraid so" Hercules replied, as if the words themselves were unpleasant.

"What brings you two here?" Xena asked, trying to change the subject.

"We are here because something terrible has happened, Dahak has been released" Hera answered.

"Released but how?" Gabrielle asked.

"Discord is working with him. She completed a ceremony which enabled Dahak to enter this world in the form of a human"

"How do you propose we stop them?" Xena asked.

"Dahak has not fully gained all his powers, he is at this moment very weak. Discord will do everything in her power to protect Dahak until he is strong enough. We only have a few days until then" The Queen of the gods replied.

"If he's weak right now, why don't you two go stop him?" Hercules asked, with resentment in his voice.

"We would if we could, but Dahak has taken control over the kingdom of Avalon, and Discord has created a force field around the kingdom. If any full god enters Avalon or goes anywhere closely near the kingdom, they will lose their godly hood" Zeus answered.

"And naturally you're too scared to go in there" Hercules said.

"Of course not, it's just that there would be no point in any of the gods going seeing how we would be useless" Zeus replied, obviously insulted.

"Well it wouldn't be the first time you all were useless" Hercules said, with grin.

"Hercules" Xena whispered, in a calming voice.

Hercules nodded as to indicate that he would ease up.

"Should we count on you to do this or not?" Zeus asked, showing hints that he was still upset.

"Yes you can. But how is it that Discord could create such a powerful force field?" Xena asked.

"She is using some of Dahak's powers to control the force field, that is also why neither I nor Zeus can destroy it" Hera replied.

"Do you know how long it'll take us to get to the Kingdom of Avalon?"

"It's about a day and a half's ride from here" Zeus answered.

"What about Ares? Does he know about this?" The Warrior Princess questioned.

"Yes Ares has been told. However I doubt he'll be foolish enough to accompany you on this mission" Zeus replied.

"What will happen to the people of the Kingdom if Dahak is destroyed?" Gabrielle asked.

"Sadly the people of the Kingdom were all killed, the only ones you will find there will be the soldiers whom are now like living zombies. Do not try to save them for they are already lost" The Queen of the Gods answered.

"Alright then, I guess we probably should start packing our things" Xena said.

As everyone then started collecting their belongings Hera and Zeus departed. By nightfall they had already covered a small portion of the distance. As Xena and Morrigan tried to avoid each other, Sabrina and Adam were doing the same. Evander and Solan weren't exactly buddies, neither even tried to talk to the other. And Hercules was stuck in the middle trying to keep peace between them all. Meanwhile Gabrielle, Eve and Brigid were getting along just fine. Yes the rest of their time together would seem to be a challenge.

While Xena lie in her bedroll she couldn't help but wonder where Ares was at that moment. She expected him to show up earlier but there was no sign of him. She knew he was upset but didn't understand how upset he really was.

At that very moment Ares was lying on his bed in one of his temples. He lay there with his eyes open just thinking about Xena. Maybe he should have gone to see her before, he thought. But it was too late now, or at least that was the lie he told him self. 'Tomorrow' he said to him self, 'I'll go back tomorrow morning' He added.

* * *

By the next morning without a second to waste they were on their way. Hercules could tell something was bothering Xena, so right before they were about to leave he went to talk to her.

"Xena, is everything alright" He asked.

"Yeah, everything's just fine" She answered, clearly not telling the truth.

"You're worried about Ares aren't you?"

"A little. It's just that I know he's hurting and there's nothing I can do about it"

"If he's mad about me being here, then I think he still has some more growing up to do"

"It's not just that, it's a whole other thing too"

"What do you mean?"

"Before Ares left he went to talk to Evander, and I'm guessing it didn't go too well"

"So Ares is trying to makeup for his past mistakes" Hercules said, coming to a realization.

"Something like that" Xena replied, then paused and took a deep breath. "We should probably be on our way" She added.

"Yeah, I'll be right there" Hercules replied, as Xena walked away. " A new Ares" Hercules said to himself, with a hint of both disbelief and hope.

Later on in the late afternoon as they were on their way to the Kingdom of Avalon, a small army of Dahak's soldiers attacked Xena and the others. Xena instructed Eve and Brigid to take Sabrina and Adam to safety. Then Xena drew her sword and began to fight. It was 70 against 6; the odds weren't exactly in their favor.

Using his powers Evander conjured up a giant, which destroyed nearly half the army. But one of the soldiers caught Evander from behind, with a hard blow to the head Evander was down and the giant vanished.

As Xena was fighting she turned to see Morrigan in trouble. She swiftly pounced on the soldier; whose blade was inches away from striking Morrigan. With a lunge of her sword Xena brought the soldier down to his knees, then delivered a fatal blow. With a nod to Morrigan Xena then turned her attention to the leader of the army.

Knowing that something needed to be done, Xena's only option was to go after the leader, the dark warrior. Who was covered in black armor with spikes coming from every direction.

With her famous war cry Xena charged the dark warrior. Their swords clashed and in the heat of the battle, to them it seemed as if they were the only two there. Xena repeatedly swung her sword at him, but it seemed as if nothing she threw at him could damage the dark warrior's armor. But Xena's armor on the other hand was not holding up as well, she had cuts and bruises all over her body, but Xena wasn't about to give up.

Everyone else wasn't doing any better. The army proved to be more than they could handle. They needed help, and they needed it now.

* * *

Fortunately someone was still watching over them. Lena stood there with an expression of shock on her face, as she looked into the silver bowl, which held an image of the battle pictured over the water.

"SAVANNAH, APRIL, ANGEL COME QUICKLY!" Lena yelled, as her golden curls shook with urgency.

"What is it?" Savannah asked, as she appeared in a flash of red light with April and Angel by her side.

"There's a major problem here. Xena, Hercules and the others are in a fight against some of Dahak's soldiers. And it's not looking good" The thunder dominating beauty answered.

"Don't worry we got this" The raven haired aquatic Element said, pointing to herself and April.

"No, no, no the last thing we need is you two making things worst than what they already are" Savannah quickly replied, her crimson eyes glowing red.

"We resent that. What makes you think that we would screw things up, again?" April asked, crossing her arms causing her dark pink toga to sway briefly.

"Listen we don't have time for this, we need to do something now" Lena yelled over the bickering.

"Fine then if we can't go down there and help, what can we do?" Angel asked.

"Where's Ares?" The fiery maiden questioned.

"Probably at one of his temples" Lena answered.

"Good, then you should go down there and tell him what's happening, maybe he'll be able to even up the score" Savannah said to Lena.

"I'll be back in a flash" The fair-haired divinity replied, before disappearing in a flash of golden light.

"Hey if Ares doesn't get there in the next 5 minutes can I go down there?" April asked, as a huge crossbow appeared in her hands.

"NO" Savannah yelled, then sighed as she rubbed her temples from frustration.

"You never let me have any fun" The wind deity said, pouting.

* * *

The next second Lena appeared in Ares' chamber, and found the war god seated wearily upon his scarlet couch with a look of despair in his features. His haired appeared a bit unkempt compared to its usual form, and his skin no longer exuded the essence of his godly powers.

"Ares, Xena needs your help. You have to get down there right now" Lena said, right after emerging before Ares, wasting no time.

"Wait, what happened?" The god asked, frantically jumping to his feet.

"They're in a battle against some of Dahak's soldiers. The faster you get down there, the better"

"I can't" Ares said, with his head tilted downward.

"What do you mean you CAN'T? Maybe you didn't hear me, the woman you LOVE is in big trouble, or don't you care?" Lena asked, with anger ringing through her voice.

"I mean I can't" Ares said again, balling his hands into a fist.

"It's one those days isn't it?" Lena asked, now fully understanding what Ares meant.

"Yeah" Ares replied, angry with himself.

"Great, just great" Lena said, as she began getting frustrated.

"Wait can't you just go and help them?"

"We're not supposed to physically interfere"

"You're going to just let them die?" The War God asked, infuriated.

"No I'm not. Look I can bring you close to the battle, but you'll have to ride horse back the rest of the way. Deal?" Lena asked.

"Yes whatever it takes"

With that said they disappeared.

* * *

They later reappeared just yards away from where the battle was taking place. With his sword in hand the war god rode into the battle slicing any soldier in his way. As his blood raced rapidly through his body, Ares could feel the thrill of the fight inside him. With his sword covered in blood and his heart beating fast he began looking for Xena. 

To the right of him Ares spotted Evander struggling to beat two soldiers. Ares lapped off his horse and without breaking a sweat he easily defeated the two opponents. Ares turned to Evander and could tell by the look on the young man's face that he wasn't the least bit thankful. Without so much as a word to Evander Ares turned his attention back to looking for his Warrior Princess.

Xena was still fighting the leader of the army. She swung her sword against his chest then with a flip she kicked him across his face, but he didn't budge. She was now out of breath, and out of ideas. With one solid kick the dark warrior knocked Xena to the ground.

"This sword was specially made for you only" The dark warrior said, then dropped his sword and pulled out a second one, which was covered in dark red blood.

As he thrusted his sword down towards Xena, he let out an evil cry. Suddenly Ares arrived and without a moments notice deflected the sword from its course.

"I'll kill you for that" The dark warrior roared, as he swung at Ares.

Their swords clashed twice before the sinister creature smacked Ares in the face with his spiked glove. Resulting in a large gash on Ares' forehead.

The god of war stumbled to the ground, and then slowly got up. The dark warrior then shoved his sword into Ares' side. As his blood began dripping down, Ares swung one last time, and ran his sword into the Dark warrior.

As the Dark warrior crumbled to the ground, Xena got up and staggered to Ares. Her expression turned into one of horror as she saw the blood oozing from him. When she had finally got to him Ares practically collapsed in her arms.

At which time the soldiers realized their leader had been beaten, and they then retreated. Hercules and the others started rejoicing at their victory, while Xena sat there on the ground with Ares in her arms.

"I-I…I don't understand how? How could you be… no you can't be" Xena could barely say, as the tears started pouring down her face.

"Xena" Ares said, in barely a whisper. "I'm sorry"

"Sorry for what?" Xena asked, confused.

But before Ares could answer he blacked out.

"Ares… ARES" Xena said, but no answer. "GABRIELLE, HERCULES " Xena yelled.

The others then saw Xena with what seemed to be the lifeless body of Ares in her arms.

"Xena, what happened? Is he…?" Gabrielle asked, in disbelief.

"No he just blacked out. We need to move him to somewhere safe" Xena replied, trying to pull herself together.

Hercules lifted Ares and moved him to a place hidden between the trees. Gabrielle and the others built a fire and camp around the wounded god, as Xena badge Ares' wounds. Xena sat down beside him as the others all except for Gabrielle, left.

"How is this all possible?" Gabrielle asked, still in disbelief, sitting a small distance from Xena.

"I don't know" Xena replied in a distant voice.

Sudden sounds of footsteps could be heard as Solan made his way to them.

"Mom" Solan said softly, his face covered with guilt.

"Yes Solan"

"There's something I need to tell you"

"Maybe I should go" Gabrielle said, as she was about to stand up.

"No you should hear this too" Solan replied.

"Okay what is it Solan?" Xena asked, as worry again filled her features.

"Remember when Ares told you that he made a deal with Hades to get me out of the underworld?"

"Yeah, Hades said that as long as you could defeat ten of his best warriors, he would allow you to return to this world" Xena replied.

"That was just part of it"

"Part of it, what do you mean?" The Gabrielle asked.

"There was another half of the deal. In order for Hades to let me go Ares had to agree to something else. For twenty days Ares would lose his immortality. But it wouldn't be twenty consecutive days, it would vary. One day he'll be a god and the next he'll be mortal and back again. Ares had no idea which days it would be" Solan replied, looking ashamed.

"That explains why at times we didn't see him for days" Gabrielle stated.

"He told me not to tell you two. He didn't want anyone worrying about him" Solan said.

"By the gods" Xena whispered, as her eyes became watery.

"I'm sorry mom, I should have told you sooner" The golden haired young man said, with sadness in his eyes as he kneeled down beside his mother.

"It wasn't your fault" Xena replied, placing a comforting hand against her son's face.

Solan then got up and left. Xena turned to Ares and was still for a moment.

"Xena are you okay?" Gabrielle asked, concerned.

The raven-haired warrior merely nodded.

"Don't worry he'll be all right, he's strong and besides he's really stubborn" Gabrielle said, trying lighten up the mood.

"Yeah" Xena replied, with a soft chuckle.

Gabrielle placed a reassuring hand on her best friend's shoulder, before leaving as she saw Hercules heading their way. Gabrielle walked to Hercules and briefly informed him of what Solan had just told them. The Bard walked away as Hercules went to Xena.

"How's he holding up?" Hercules asked, standing behind Xena.

"Not so good, I don't think there's anything much I can do" Xena replied, staring at Ares.

"And how about you Xena. Are you doing okay?" The demi-god asked, in a worried voice as he noticed the cuts and bruises on Xena.

"I'm fine, but right now I need to focus on Ares…I can't lose him" She replied, turning to Hercules.

"You love him don't you?" He asked, fearing the answer.

"With all my heart" She replied, looking back at Ares and caressing his face.

Hercules then began to accept the fact that maybe Ares did love Xena, and it was obvious that she loved him back. The golden haired half god took a deep breath, as he knew he would dread the words he was about to say.

"Maybe we should call Zeus. There might be a chance he could save him" He said, almost having to force it out.

"Alright"

"ZEUS, ZEUS" The golden brown haired demi-god shouted.

Suddenly The King of the Gods appeared in a flash of gold light.

"Did you want to talk to me or insult me again?" Zeus asked, with an aggravated expression.

"Neither, look Ares needs your help, he's been wounded" Hercules replied.

"How could this have happened?" Zeus asked, kneeling down beside the fallen god.

"Long story short, he lost his immortal, and was stabbed by one of Dahak's warriors in a fight" Hercules answered.

Zeus raised his hands over Ares and a gold light appeared around them. After a few seconds the light vanished, and he lowered his hands.

"I am sorry but there is nothing I can do to help him" Zeus said, in sadden voice.

"What do you mean, there's nothing you can do? You are the King of Gods aren't you?" The Warrior Princess asked, enraged.

"The sword Ares was stabbed with was covered in the blood of Dahak. The only way to save Ares would be to destroy Dahak's human form" The god replied.

"What will happen to Ares until then?" Xena questioned.

"Dahak's blood will flow through Ares like poison. His condition will only worsen as time goes by…then he'll die" Zeus answered, with what seemed to be tears in his eyes.

"How long does he have?" Hercules asked.

"A little more than a day maybe less, I can't be exactly sure"

Xena suddenly got up and quickly walked away.

"Xena" Hercules said, calling after her. But Xena kept walking.

"Go after her, I'll stay with Ares" Zeus said.

Hercules followed Xena.

"Xena, Xena. What's wrong?" Hercules yelled, trying to catch up with her.

Xena slowed down to a stop.

"It should have been me" She said, with her back turned to Hercules.

"What are you talking about?" Hercules asked, confused.

"The sword Ares was stabbed with was meant for me" Xena answered, turning to him.

"How can you be sure about that?"

"When the leader of the army pulled out the sword he said it was made for me, and me only" Xena replied, with anger in her eyes.

"Xena you can't blame your self for what happened to Ares" Hercules said, walking closer to her.

Xena said nothing as her eyes saddened and wondered to the ground.

"It wasn't your fault, it wasn't your fault" Hercules said, as he placed his hands on Xena's arms in a comforting manor.

"You're right. Beating myself up over this isn't help anyone" She replied, then for a brief her eyes became as cold as ice.

"We should probably go back to Ares"

Xena nodded. They returned to find Zeus still kneeling down beside his son. Xena stared at Ares for a moment before speaking to Hercules and Zeus.

"If you both wouldn't mind, I'd like a minute alone with Ares"

"Of course we wouldn't, besides I should probably go and tell Hera what has happened. Take care Xena, goodbye Hercules" Zeus replied, then disappeared.  
"I'll be with the others if you need me" Hercules said, with a caring expression.

"Thanks" Xena replied, as Hercules left.

She then kneeled down beside Ares.

"Ares" Xena whispered, "There's something I need to do. Dahak needs to be stopped… If something happens I need you to look after the children, and watch over Gabrielle for me" She then paused. "I love you, Good bye" She added before meeting his lips with hers.

Xena knew that Ares was unconscious, but had hoped that he some how still heard her. She then gathered her weapons and headed for Argo. The next second Gabrielle went to check on Ares, when she got there Xena was nowhere in sight and Gabrielle wondered where she had gone to. While Gabrielle started changing the badge on Ares' forehead he began moving and mumbling.

"Ares are you all right?" Gabrielle asked.

"You have to stop her" Ares said, in barely a murmur.

"Stop who?" Gabrielle asked, baffled.

"Xena, she's going to fight Dahak alone, you have to stop her" Ares replied, before again losing consciousness.

"Ares, Can you hear me? Ares" Gabrielle said, but no answered.

Gabrielle ran to where Argo was and found Xena packing Argo's saddlebag.

"Xena where are you going?" Gabrielle asked, with suspicion in her voice.

"Nowhere I'm just going to scout ahead" Xena answered, while still packing the saddlebag.

"No you're not. Xena I know what you're up to. Do you really think that you could stand a chance alone against Dahak?"

Xena didn't respond, she merely continued packing the saddlebag.

"Xena are you listening to me? What you're planning on doing is crazy. You're in no condition to fight. Xena please just think this over" Gabrielle said trying to plead with her.

"By the time we get there it'll be too late and Ares would be dead. I can't just sit back and let that happen" Xena replied, turning to Gabrielle.

"It wont happen Xena, I promise. We'll get there in time to stop Dahak. But right now you need your rest" Gabrielle said, in a reassuring voice.

The anger that had been boiling inside of her threatened to erupt, but Xena had no desire to release it upon Gabrielle; Gabrielle was not the one for whom her fury was directed to. Taking a second to clear her mind Xena finally realized how irrationally she was thinking. Her anger had blinded her and would have sealed her doom. If it were not for Gabrielle she would've been on her way to Avalon alone and in trouble shape.

Xena sighed and looked her best friend in the eye then simply nodded.

"Gabrielle I want you to know that no matter what happens in me life I will always be grateful for having you as a friend"

"Yeah I know, what would you do without me" Gabrielle replied, smiling.

"Now I wouldn't say all that" Xena said, with a chuckle.

As the two best friends made their way back to camp, Gabrielle later told Xena of how she knew, about her plan to leave and try to fight Dahak alone.

* * *

Meanwhile Solan found Evander sitting beside the river staring blankly into the water. Solan could tell by the look on Evander's face that something was bothering. And so he walked up to Evander, and sat down beside him.

"What are you doing so far away from the camp?" Solan asked.

"I should ask you the same thing" Evander replied, with an irritated look in his face.

"So what's the matter?"

"What are you talking about?" Evander asked, puzzled.

"I just figure you wouldn't be way out here staring into space, if something wasn't bothering you"

"You mean other than you"

"Ha, very funny, but seriously what is it?"

"None of your business, that's what it is"

"Fine whatever"

"Why do you care anyway?" Evander asked, with suspicion in his tone as he turned to Solan.

"I don't, I guess I thought that if something was troubling me, I'd want somebody to talk to"

"See that's the difference between you and me, you rely on people and I don't. Never have and never will"

"Well it's better than not knowing when to ask for help. You think you can handle everything on your own, when the truth is you can't"

"First of all you don't know anything about me. You don't know where I came from, who I am, or how I grew up. And second of all who in Tartarus asked you anyway" Evander said, with anger in his voice.

"Take it easy, you didn't need to get all defensive"

"Just leave me alone" Evander said, turning back to the water.

"Look he's not that bad"

"What?" Evander asked, confused as he turned back to Solan.

"Ares, he's not that bad"

"What do I care?"

"That's it, isn't it? That's what's bothering you"

Evander said nothing; he merely turned back to the water.

"I can understand why you're mad, but give him a shoot"

"Why should I?"

"Cause he's your father"

"I have no father"

"Sure keep on telling your self that, maybe one day it'll come true" Solan said, as he got up and began walking away.

"Wait…how do I know he even cares?" Evander asked, getting up and turning to Solan.

"Trust me, he cares" Solan answered turning back to Evander.

Evander replied by nodding his head.

"You know what I realized?"

"What?"

"If you think about it we're kind of like brothers"

"I guess"

"So now you have a big brother to look up to" Solan said, with smirk.

"Hey if anyone's going to be looking up to anyone else, it'll be you looking up to me" Evander replied, with a chuckle as he padded Solan on the head.

"Yeah right, I'll see you back at the camp"

"Sure whatever"


	5. The Elements

By dawn everyone had risen and began packing their belongings while the adults were trying to decide what to do with the children. Meanwhile on Mt. Olympus the gods were gathered together for a meeting in the throne room. 

"Zeus, what is the reason behind this meeting" Hermes asked.

"How should I know, I did not call this assembly" Zeus replied, then turned to Hera.

"Why are you looking towards me, it wasn't me either" Hera said.

The gods began to murmur amongst themselves, as confusion spread throughout the throne room.

Suddenly flashes of red, yellow, pink and blue light appeared before them. The gods stood there in awe, as four seemingly young woman emerged from the beams of light. They were the Elements, the life forms whom even the gods feared.

There before them stood Savannah the eldest, whom controlled the power of fire. She wore a scarlet toga, which matched her crimson eyes. Her skin was a creamy hazel color, and her hair as dark as night flowed down her face in curls.

Beside her was Lena, the second eldest, who controlled the power of lighting. She had on a golden toga, which accentuated the specks of yellow in her hazel eyes. Her skin was a soft golden brown, and her fair-haired curls traveled down past her shoulders.

To her right was April, who had the power to control the wind. She wore a dark pink toga, which was nearly similar in color to her pink eyes. She had a creamy hazel skin tone, and her feathery brown hair was tied up in a bun, leaving only two locks of hair running down the side of her face.

And last but not least there stood Angel, April's twin, looking virtually identical to her sister. Except for her skin tone which was lighter than that of her twin, and her wavy raven hair, which ran down her back. Angel had worn a sapphire colored toga that almost matched her eyes, which were as blue as the morning sky. She had the power to control water.

Mumbling soon arose from the gods, as this was the first time many of them had laid eyes on the Elements.

"Silence" Zeus yelled, as the room then became quiet.

"To what do we own to such an honor?" Hera asked.

"We have called upon this meeting to speak of a great threat against mankind. The release of Dahak" Savannah replied.

"We have already taken care of it, Xena and Hercules are on their way to fight Dahak, as we speak" The King of the Gods spoke, with confidence.

"Do you honestly believe that those mortals alone can defeat Dahak? They can not even begin to fathom his powers" Lena replied.

"So what does that mean? Dahak can not be stopped?" Artemis asked.

"Not necessarily. You all know of the prophecy correct?" The wind deity questioned.

"Of course. The only one who can defeat Dahak must be filled with wisdom but young of age, must be skilled but pure of heart, and must be powerful but not immortal" The Queen of the Gods stated.

"Exactly"

"So what's the problem? Xena and Hercules are powerful, skilled, good, wise, and not immortal" Zeus said.

"Yes, but they are not young of age and pure of heart. Evil and all things associated with it such as rage, and hate will not be able to defeat Dahak, for only goodness has the power to penetrate his wicked soul"

"But there is no one who is all those things" Zeus said, aggravated.

"There is one" Angel replied, then paused. "The child of War is the key to stopping Dahak"

"The child of War? How can one of Ares' children be anywhere near pure of heart?"

"…Sabrina" Hera said faintly, with a look of alarm on her face. "She is who the prophecy speaks of. Isn't she?"

"Yes" Savannah answered, almost regrettably.

"But this is madness, Sabrina can not go up against Dahak, she will die" Artemis said, enraged.

"It is Sabrina's destiny to fight against Dahak. Whether she lives or dies is in your hands" Angel replied.

"What do you mean?" Athena asked, as confused as the other gods.

"If the powers of all the gods are transmitted to Sabrina while she is battling Dahak, she will be strong enough to defeat him" The Thunder Element answered.

"And when we give our powers to her, what will happen to us?" Hades asked.

"The reign of the gods shall end" Savannah answered.

"What in Tartarus does that mean?" Deimos yelled, walking to the middle of the room where the Elements stood, before continuing. "You want us to sacrifice our selves for mortals"

"Lower your voice Deimos" Hera said cautioning him.

"Yes Deimos it would suit you well to heed Hera's warning, for if you do not you shall suffer the consequences for such disregard" Savannah said, in a dark voice.

At that very moment a swirl of blazing red fire materialized on the ceiling above them. The gods gasped as the fire seemed as if would fall upon them in any second. Fear grew inside of Deimos as he turned to the Elements; he quickly apologized and practically ran back into the crowd of gods.

"Savannah this is not the message we want to send them" Lena whispered to her sister.

"I know, but he asked for it" The Fiery maiden whispered back, then looked up at the ceiling as the swirl of fire rapidly vanished.

"So we have no choice in the matter?" Zeus asked, with a displeased expression.

"If you choose not to help, you will not be penalized. No harm shall come of you as a result of your decision" April replied.

"Then it is settled, why should we get involved. I'll will simply keep Sabrina away from the battle" Zeus said, with a poised expression.

"Were you not listening, Sabrina's destiny is to fight Dahak. No matter what you do she will battle against him. If she does not receive all the powers of the gods she will die" Lena said, raising her voice then pausing. "If you can live with your selves knowing that you allowed the destruction of mankind to occur, well then go ahead. Just remember that Sabrina's blood and the blood of all the others will be on your hands" Lena said, with disgust in her voice.

The Elements then disappeared in a blistering array of colors. The room was silent for a moment until Deimos spoke up.

"I say we see what happens. Maybe the Elements are wrong" He said.

Most of the gods murmured in agreement.

"Are you kidding me? Come on you guys, are you really going to let them die. There's no way in tartarus that the Elements are wrong, and you know that" Aphrodite said, a little out raged from how quickly the gods were to abandon her young niece.

"We should lose our lives for what, a bunch of mortals? …I declare we let the mortals fend for themselves"

"How totally selfish are you? You all heard what they said, if we do nothing little Sabriny will die"

"So what, better her than us. We don't owe her anything" Deimos replied, cruelly.

"She is my god daughter and in one way or another connected to all of you. We can not let her die because we are afraid" Aphrodite said, pleading with the other gods.

"Aphrodite is right, we can not stand by and do nothing. If Dahak wins against the mortals, he will soon come for us. And then we will be the ones in need of help" Athena said.

"I'd rather fight against Dahak, than give up my powers just like that" Deimos shouted out.

"Then you are even more foolish then you look. If Sabrina is mankind's only hope in stopping Dahak, and she dies then we'd be dead anyway. What chance do you think we would face against him?"

"This is insane, I will not sacrifice myself for anyone, especially not for mankind. We don't need a pathetic group of weak mortals to help us get rid of Dahak"

"Those mortals are willing to fight Dahak alone, while you hide in your little chamber, and they are the ones who are pathetic, right?"

"Let me tell you one thing--"

"That is enough this discussion is over. Hera and I shall decide the appropriate action that will be taken. We will later inform you of our decision" Zeus said, raising his voice.

The other gods then disappeared leaving only the Queen and King.

"Dear husband, what will we do?" Hera asked, in a worried tone.

"I do not know" Zeus answered, with a look of uncertainty.

* * *

Xena, Gabrielle, Hercules, and Morrigan had all agreed that the children should be sent somewhere safe, away from all the chaos that was soon to come. Gabrielle called Aphrodite in the hopes that she would agree to watch over the children for them.

Aphrodite later shortly appeared in a flash of pink light; dressed in her usual rose colored garments. With somewhat a sad smile she greeted the shorthaired blonde bard and the raven-haired warrior whom stood facing her.

"Aphrodite we were wondering if you would do us a favor?" Gabrielle asked.

"Of course"

"Someone needs to watch Sabrina and Adam while we head to Avalon"

"Me" Aphrodite replied, with a surprised tone.

"Well Yeah, unless you don't want to" Gabrielle said, baffled by the look of shock on the goddess' face.

Aphrodite grew silent as she noticed Sabrina and Adam playing with Hercules. She was then reminded of what the Elements had foretold about Sabrina's destiny. Sorrow quickly came over her. The thought of Sabrina dying while in her care, made her shiver inside.

"Aphrodite" Xena said calling back her attention. "If you don't want to do it we'll find someone else"

"Oh no, I'm totally up for it" Aphrodite replied, trying to pull off a fake smile.

"O-kay" Xena said, with a hint of confusion in her voice.

"Don't worry I'll take good care of them" Aphrodite said, in a low but seemly happy tone.

"We know you will" Gabrielle replied, with a warm smile.

Xena then called for Sabrina and Adam.

"Yes mommy" Sabrina said, as she and Adam ran up to them. "Oh hi Auntie Aphrodite"

"Hey toots how would you like to stay with me for the rest of the day?" Aphrodite asked, squatting down to Sabrina.

"But what about my daddy?" Sabrina replied, in a sad voice.

"Oh sweet heart don't worry daddy will be all right" Xena replied, as she picked up Sabrina.

"Your mom's right, just watch he'll be doing back flips in no time" Gabrielle said.

"Okay" Sabrina replied, displaying a faint smile.

"We'll have just oodles of fun" Aphrodite said.

"Wait a minute, I'm not going anywhere. I want stay here with my daddy and help him fight the bad guys" Adam yelled.

"Adam don't you want to go with Aphrodite and Sabrina? You wouldn't like for them to have all the fun, now would you?" Gabrielle asked.

"I don't care, I'm not going" Adam replied, before running off.

"Adam wait" Sabrina yelled running after him.

"I'll go talk to him" Gabrielle said to Xena.

"All right" Xena replied, as Gabrielle left.

"Xena" Aphrodite said with hesitation.

"Yeah"

"There's something you should know" The goddess paused unsure of what to say. "It's about Dahak"

"What about him?"

Aphrodite knew if she told Xena about the entire prophecy that it would unquestionably devastate her. And she knew she wouldn't be able to bare the sight of Xena in such misery. So she told her the only thing she could.

"There was like a sort of meeting earlier with the gods, it was something about Dahak and how there is like one person who can beat him"

"Do you know who it is?"

The goddess was quiet for a brief moment before answering. "No…no I don't" She lied, then looked away.

"Well we're not going to have time to go look for them, we'll just have to wait and see what happens. Hopefully there's a way around this"

"Yeah hopefully" Aphrodite replied in a voice soft enough to be a whisper.

"Is there anything else?"

"What?"

"Is there anything else I should know about Dahak?"

"No…no that's about it" Aphrodite felt a disgusting taste in her mouth as the words left her lips.

"I should probably go check on Ares"

"Can I come with you?"

"Sure"

Xena lead Aphrodite to the dying God of War. He lay on his bedroll barely conscious, and breathing heavily, as if he were gasping for air. Purple veins surrounded his blood shot eyes, and his trembling hand held a cloth, which was covered in the blood he had coughed out. His skin had been drained of all its color, leaving only a ghostly complexion. And his feeble body hardly had enough strength to left up his head when the two women kneeled down beside him.

"Oh Ares" Aphrodite whispered.

"Hey dite" The mortal god managed to say.

"I guess asking how you're feeling would be a stupid question, huh?"

Ares made a soft chuckle, then wicked at the pain it brought.

"I think it would be better if Ares went back to Mt. Olympus with you and the children" Xena said.

"What no, I'm not going anywhere" The former god uttered, as he tried to sit up then screamed from the excruciating pain.

"Ares don't" Xena replied, gently laying him back down. "It's for the best"

"Bro she's right, maybe it would be better if you stayed on Mt. Olympus until this was all over"

"NO"

"Would you stop being stubborn for a minute, this is your life we're talking about" The Warrior Princess replied, with a hard sigh.

"No…I'm not going, I'm not leaving you" Ares said, in barely a whisper.

As Xena struggled to fight back the tears, she felt as if something in her heart was dying. As if part of her soul was almost gone.

"You're not going to lose me" The raven-haired beauty spoke, as she began to caress his face. The feel of his ice-cold skin underneath her warm hand made her slightly quiver.

Aphrodite looked at her brother and began feeling the tears tugging at her heart. The sight of her once powerful brother in such agonizing pain saddened her. At that very moment she felt something she had only felt once before. The feeling she had when she found out about the twilight of the gods; the realization that the end was near. Either way the gods would lose whether it was by our own choice or by the hands of Dahak. The goddess thought to her self.

"I'll bring you to Avalon" The fair-haired deity spoke out.

"Aphrodite you know that isn't a safe idea" Xena replied.

"I don't care. Look Xena we both know that the sooner you get there the better. Ares doesn't have much time left"

"But Aphrodite--"

"But nothing. So what if I lose my powers at least I'll be going something" Aphrodite said, tightening her jaw as determination beamed in her baby blue eyes.

The Warrior Princess looked at the goddess before her, and could tell that Aphrodite had no plans of changing her mind. "Fine, but I don't want you to bring us too close, I'd rather avoid you losing your powers"

With a sigh Aphrodite nodded in agreement.

As the two women sat motionless along side the mortal god, the air around them became filled with uncertainty and fear. With each person thinking of another, but sharing the same focus: death.

* * *

As was decided earlier Aphrodite took Sabrina and Adam to Mount Olympus, before transporting Xena and the others a good distance from The Gates of Avalon. Once that was done, she headed back to Mount Olympus. When she got there, Aphrodite saw how miserable both the young children looked. And so she decided to liven up the mood.

"Okay so what would you mini's like to do first?" Aphrodite said, trying to sound cheerful.

"I want my mommy and daddy" Sabrina exclaimed, in a depressed and saddened voice.

"Oh, come on we don't need them to have some fun. I mean, I'm a god and you're both…well…half gods. Above that, there is no supervision. What more could you ask for?"

"As the son of Hercules, I demand to be brought back to earth, to assist my father"

"Geez, take it easy mini Herc. Your dad has all the help he'll need. Don't sweat over it, everything's going to be fine"

"How do you know?"

"I just do, trust me"

"I still don't believe you"

"You need proof, fine here you go"

With the wave of her hand a large book appeared resting on a stand. Aphrodite opened the book to reveal an image of Hercules and the others making their way to the Gates of Avalon. Argo II was dragging Ares on a stretcher while the others were on foot.

"See they're just fine, no need to stress" Aphrodite said, closing the book.

"Can we look in the book when ever we want to see them?" Sabrina asked.

"Sure toots, but for now lets go do something to take our minds off the whole thing"

"Okay"

"And how about you mini Herc., does that sound good?"

"Fine what ever" The small demi-god answered, with a grumpy voice.

Aphrodite led the two children to a room filled with strange trees and exotic plants. Where the song of the birds echoed though out, and little creatures scurry from place to place. It was as if they had found a paradise, which had been hidden amongst these walls. The children gasped with delight as they looked up to find no ceiling at all, but instead the sky in its place.

They continued making their way to the center of the room. There in the middle of all this beauty stood a small stallion, whose coat had a creamy tan complexion, and whose mane was a fiery red. Two large picturesque wings adorned the horse's smoothly curved back, and on top it's head laid a pearl covered horn.

"You remember her, don't you Sabriny?" The goddess asked.

"Yeah, it's Sky" Sabrina answered, as she made her way to the stallion.

Once the horse had recognized the small child, she fluttered her wings as her horn began to glow.

"Oh Sky I've missed you" The small child said, hugging the stallion.

"What is that?" Adam asked, shocked by the sight of the creature before him.

"This is Sky, my horsy. I got her as present from my grandma"

"Wow she looks so cool"

"Well you mini's have a blast. I'll be right back, there's something I need to take care of" Aphrodite said, before leaving the room. She was hoping that Sky would keep the children busy long enough for her to figure out a way to keep Sabrina out of danger.

* * *

While Aphrodite was trying to devise a plan, The Elements were busy with a similar problem.

"Lena would you relax, there's nothing to worry about" April said, as her sister paced back and forth.

"What are you stupid? Don't you realize what will happen if Dahak is not defeated?" The Thunder dominating beauty replied, as she stopped pacing to turn to April.

"Of course I do, but I have faith that Sabrina will stop him"

"But what if the Gods decide not to help?"

"That won't happen"

"How can you be so sure? By the way those gods were acting at the meeting it doesn't seem like they're planning on helping anyone"

"Would you give them a little more credit than that"

"What are you talking about? Since when do you have any faith in the Gods?"

"Lena has a point. Weren't you the one who wanted to get rid of the Gods just because you thought they didn't fear you enough?" Savannah asked, with a chuckle.

"That was like how many hundreds of years ago, time to let it go. But right now we need to face the facts, without the Gods Sabrina doesn't stand a chance against Dahak"

"Okay fine let's say that a majority of The Gods are willing to help, but a few of them aren't. What then?" Lena questioned.

"Then we persuade them to change their minds" Angel said, with a smirk as her sapphire colored eyes twinkled with mischief.

"Exactly what I was thinking" The wind deity replied.

"No" The fiery maiden quickly said.

"And why not?"

"Like you said, we need to have confidence in them to make to right decision"

"But you've seen what will happen if they choose not to help. Dahak will destroy all things good and pure. And a dark cloud of death and misery will engulf the world. Do you really want to entrust the fate of mankind to The Gods?" Angel asked, with fury in her voice.

"We have no other choice. We gave our word that none of The Gods would be harmed by us as a result of their decision. There's no going back" Savannah replied.

"Do you mean to tell us that there is nothing we can do?" Lena asked, enraged.

"I am afraid so" Savannah answered, with a troubled expression.


	6. The long goodbye

It was now early in the afternoon as Xena and the others continued to make their way to Avalon. They had traveled for hours and were just yards away from the gate. The light of the afternoon sun could barely be seen, as there appeared to be a dark over shadowing cloud soaring above the Kingdom. 

In his weaken state Ares would not be able to accompany them; so they would have to find a way to conceal his location amongst the trees in the forest. But if someone were to still find him Ares would have no way of protecting himself, which meant that it would be best if someone stayed with him instead.

"Who do you think should stay?" Hercules asked.

"I think Eve should" Morrigan answered.

"Yeah, that'll work" Solan said in agreement.

"No, I'm going" Eve spoke out in a dominant voice. And for one moment even she was surprised by her tone. "What! But there's no point in you going. What are you going to do pray the soldiers way?" Evander asked, in a mocking voice.

"For your information I can fight, no doubt better than you" Eve replied, defensively.

"Yeah right, and let me guess all this time you were just taking it easy. Right?" Evander asked, with a chuckle.

"It's true she can fight extremely well, but I'm not sure about this" Xena said.

"Mother I am not going to stand by and do nothing"

"Eve the last thing I need is for you to lose your path over this"

"I won't, trust me. Mother I'm begging you, you and I both know how good I am. And I wouldn't be able to live with my self if I knew I wasn't able to help you when you needed me the most"

Xena stared into the eyes of her daughter and saw a younger version of her self many years ago. When the warlord Cortese first attacked Amphipolis. She understood what was going on in Eve's mind, so how could she possible dismiss her daughter's plea for consent.

"…Okay" Xena hesitantly agreed.

"But wait, now who's going to stay with Ares?" Morrigan asked, with a small speck of irritation in her voice.

"I will" Brigid answered.

"Are you sure about this?" Morrigan asked, concern hiding the relief she felt knowing that her daughter was not coming with them to face Dahak.

"Yeah I'm sure"

"Good then Brigid will stay here while we find a way into the castle" Gabrielle said.

* * *

As far as they could tell the sun was still shinning brightly as the afternoon began to creep away. Gabrielle was sitting beside Ares just as the others had done moments before; trying to ease his mind.

"This isn't goodbye you know" The bard said, with a tear trailing down her face.

"Then what is it?" Ares asked, in a voice that was barely a whisper.

"Just think of it, as 'I'll see you later'"

"Well when you say it that way, it makes everything better" Ares replied in his usual sarcastic tone.

"I see you haven't lost your sense of humor"

"I guess not" He replied, with a few coughs.

Gabrielle made a small sigh as a sadden smile appeared on her face. It was strange, not too long ago she thought of Ares as her enemy, but now he was more like a friend of sorts. Sure a reluctant one, but a friend none the less.

"Everything will be fine, just hang in there" Gabrielle said, half expecting a sarcastic replied from Ares. But it never came, instead he merely nodded.

Soon after that Gabrielle turned to find Xena standing behind her. With a composed look that tried to hide the anxiety she felt inside. Gabrielle turned back to Ares.

"I'll leave you two alone" She said, getting up. She walked to Xena and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder before walking away.

Ares watched as Xena came closer and kneeled down beside him. His eyes never leaving hers, and hers never leaving his. He wished he could just hold her one last time and feel her silky smooth skin against his. To feel their lips meeting together in a passionate dance, and to be entangled in her warmth. He wanted so much to simply touch her, but when he tried the shooting pain in his body quickly stopped him.

"Ares" Xena said, as she gently grasped his ice-cold hands.

She hated to see him like this so weak, so helpless, so fragile. And in some way she believed she was to blame. She should have been the one suffering the slow painful agonizing death he was going through, not him. Damn it, she thought, why did it have to be this way, why did he have to interfere? He had no right to interfere, she could have handled it. Or at least that was what she told her self.

But her guilt would not allow her to get angry with him. She knew she had no right to put the blame on him, after all he was just trying to protect her. And there was no doubt in her mind that if Ares had known what would have happened to him, before he fought the dark warrior, he still would have done it to save her. She so deeply wanted to let her guard down, to not hide her fear, and have him hold her tight in his arms. But she knew that was more of a dream than a reality.

"What are you thinking about?" Ares asked.

"…Nothing" Xena replied, startled.

"I guess I got my self into a real mess this time"

"Looks like it"

"Luckily I have my warrior princess to protect me" Ares said, with a partial smile.

Xena couldn't help but smile back, and for a moment she forgot all about Dahak. But only for a moment.

"Ares… if I could change what happened that day, it would be me--"

"Stop!… Don't you ever think something like that again. Got it?" Ares said, in a slightly rough voice.

Xena looked into his eyes. His face, pale and tired showed no real emotion. But his eyes were filled with hurt and pain. At that moment Xena felt a hollow feeling in her heart. She looked away from him as her face became filled with a small trace of shame.

"But still I could have done something"

"Xena, it wasn't your fault" He struggled to say.

"Then why do I feel like it was?" She asked turning back to him. "Ares you're going to die if Dahak wins, and I'm starting to wonder if we're going to be able beat him. For all we know Dahak could have already gained all his powers by now"

"Don't worry, he hasn't"

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because if he did…we'd both be dead by now"

"Yeah that made me feel a whole lot better"

Ares made a small chuckle, which soon turned into a sequence of coughs.

"Are you okay?"

"…Do I look okay?"

"You know what I meant" She said, raising an eyebrow and tilting her head to the side.

"Yeah, but I love it when you make that face"

Xena made a wry smile then rolled her eyes.

"Xena, in case I don't make it--"

"Shhhh" Xena said, bringing her fingers to his lips. "You'll make it, and you'll be right here waiting for us when we come back"

Ares made a small nod and kissed her fingertips before she moved them. Xena then heard the sound of footsteps coming from behind her, but didn't care to turn around to see who it was.

"Xena it's time" Hercules said standing behind her.

"Okay" Xena replied, while still looking at Ares. She leaned in closer towards him. "I'll be back" She whispered, as she stroked his hair back then placed a loving kiss on his forehead.

"I'll be here waiting" He whispered back.

Xena sat there gazing at him for a moment before getting up and walking away. Ares watched as she soon disappeared amongst the trees. He then looked up at Hercules who was still standing there, with his arms crossed. Attempting to hide his obvious sadness Ares tried to clear his painfully sore throat.

"What?" Ares asked in a hoarse voice, as he pretended to look down at the ground.

"Do you care about her?"

"What, isn't it a little obvious don't you think?"

"No, I want to hear you say it" Hercules demanded.  
He knew Ares the God of War would never admit he actually cared for someone, let alone loved them. His pride would never allow him to confess to something so un war like. Something that was such a mortal emotion. But if Ares had truly changed then he would have no problem answering the question truthfully. Hercules thought to himself.

"What's wrong Ares, cat got your tongue?"

"Funny" Ares replied then paused. That bustard. Ares thought to him self. Who the Tartars does he think he is, asking me a stupid question like that. Of course I care about her, and damn it he knows that. He's just trying to be a jackass as usual. Well then to Tartarus with him, I'm in no mood for this bullshit. "I don't think it's any of your concern"

"Ares if this is another one of your dumb ass games, I'll kill you my self" Hercules said with hatred burning in his voice.

"Does this look like a game?" Ares asked, finally turning to look at him.

"No, but usually when you're involved things have a way of being a lie"

"Well this is not a game…and I don't need your damn approval" Ares struggled to say.

"Never said you did, but Xena is my friend and I don't want to see her get hurt"

"How noble of you, Herc."

"Just answer the question. Do you care about her or not?"

He's not going to let up is he? The moral god asked him self. Fine then I'll just say it. What's the big deal anyway, it's not like I'll be any less of a man. But if I do answer him he would have won in a sense. Getting the God of War to admit to something that was the opposite of everything he stood for. No, I'm not going to confess anything to that little jerkules. But if I say I don't he'll probably tell Xena, and he'll win either way. Damn it. Ares thought to himself.

"Ares" Hercules called out.

But the moral god did not respond. He sat there with his head turned away, and a look of indifference on his face.

"Exactly what I thought" Hercules said, with a hint of both irritation and dismay in his voice.

Slowly Hercules turned and walked away. With a sigh Ares gritted his teeth and cursed him self, for he knew that his stubbornness had once again gotten the best of him.

* * *

Xena and the others gathered their weapons and began making their way on foot, to the Gates of Avalon, leaving Argo and the other horses with Brigid. It wasn't until moments later that Solan realized someone was missing.

"Mom, Evander's not here"

"What! Where is he then?"

"I don't know, I think he might still be at the camp. Should I go get him?"

"No, we don't have time for this. We'll have to do it without him"

"What a coward" Eve said, coming up behind her brother.

"I doubt it's that" Solan replied.

"Fine then, what is it? He got lost?"

"Never mind" Solan replied, deciding to ignore the apparent smile on his sister's face.

Evander being the reclusive type he was, had no desire to tell anyone about his decisions. He had stayed back at the camp not because he was afraid, but because his conscious would not allow him to leave. There was something eating him up inside, and there was only one way to make it stop.

Brigid was sitting beside Ares, who was resting up against a tree. Hearing footsteps she quickly sprung up and picked up her sword.

"Who's there?" Brigid asked.

But there was no answer. She slowly walked towards the place where she heard the sound, and saw a figure standing beside a tree.

"Show your self" Brigid ordered.

"Hey take it easy, it's me" Evander said, throwing his hands up in a surrendering gesture.

"What are you doing here? The others left a while ago" Brigid asked, lowering her sword.

"I know, I just wanted to…" Evander replied, trailing off.

"Oh, okay. Well yeah go ahead, I'll be over there or whatever" Brigid said, then stopped as if she was pausing. It seemed like she about to say something else but decided against it. She then walked away, leaving the two alone.

Ares couldn't hear Brigid and Evander's conversation from where he was. But it wasn't hard to figure out why Evander was there. Ares braced himself, knowing that whatever Evander had to say to him wouldn't be too pleasant.

Slowly the brown eyed young man made his way to the dying moral god. And for a moment a trace of sadness could be seen on his face. But it soon quickly vanished leaving behind a look of anger in its place. He could feel the hatred he had for this man boiling inside of him. And for some reason he could also feel the grief and sorrow he had for him. But how could this be? This man had done nothing for him, and had never cared about him. Why should he feel sorrow for a stranger? Why should he care if he lived or died? This man meant nothing to him. And he meant nothing to this man. Or did he?

Evander then remembered how Ares had saved him when the group of Dahak's soldiers attacked them. How for a second there he could see a look of worry on the moral god's face. And even though he appeared ungrateful, he was actually thankful that Ares had cared enough the help him.

No matter how much Evander denied it, he could never truly hate Ares, for some reason or another his soul would not allow him to. He remembered the way Ares would play with Sabrina. The way he would throw her up in the air and how she'd fall into his welcoming arms. He wished he had been able to share such a moment with his father. But reality quickly reminded him that he was no longer a child and that he was much too old to have such foolish dreams. Suddenly whatever sorrow he had was gone, and only anger was left. Now Evander wanted nothing more than to grab Ares by the throat, and make him feel all the anguish he had endured in his life. But something stopped him from acting on it.

At this moment the young man was breathing heavily, with his hands balled up into a fist. Ares lay there uneasily as the silence was began to get to him; he had to say something, anything to end the silence.

"I--"

"NO, there's something I have to say first…I hate you, probably more than I've ever hated anyone else. I grew up without a father, YET you claim you cared about me. But if you really did, then WHERE the Tatarus were you all my life? You can't honestly expect me to believe that Hercules and my mother stopped you from being there. You could have visited me from time to time without them even realizing it. But YOU didn't, and I want to know why" Evander shouted, as the intensity grew in his face.

"You're right, I could've but I didn't…but what do you expect me to say, you know the type of person I was"

"You mean am" Evander spat out.

"I probably deserve that…But you wouldn't be here if you only wanted to offend me" Ares replied, with a sequence of coughs.

"Guess that proves how little you know me. The only reason I'm here is to take one last look at the pathetic being you have become"

"You don't fool me, trying to pretend that, that's the real reason you're here. You're a lot like me, and I can see right through your cover"

"YOU'RE WRONG I'M NOTHING LIKE YOU"

"Is that what you think?"

"THAT'S WHAT I KNOW. You're a heartless monster and I would rather die then to ever be known as your child" Evander replied. His conscious yelled for him to stop, but it was too late the words had already left his lips. And there was no calling them back.

The words tore at Ares, the pain was even worst than that of the poison. He looked away as his eyes began stinging with anger and disappointment.

"…Fine then, you've seen me, now go"

Damn it. Evander thought to himself. Say something, anything it can't end like this. Desperate to respond he said the first thing he could think of. "So I guess that's it, right? I tell you something you don't like, and you run away scared like a cowardly old man. I shouldn't have expected any more from you"

"What do you want from me?" Ares yelled in a hoarse voice, as he turned to Evander. "I'm trying the best I can, but you keep pushing me away…so then what do you want from me?" He asked once more.

Evander was once again silent, and couldn't help but wonder whether Ares was correct. What do I really want from him? He asked himself as the question raced back and forth throughout his mind.

"I-I don't want anything from you" The young man answered.

"Yes you do, you're just too stubborn to admit it"

Evander paused for a moment unsure how to respond. He then realized something that was in front of him this whole time. He did want something from Ares, but it wasn't riches or power or anything of that sort. He simply wanted a father. The thing he has been trying to get away from is the same thing he's wanted ever since he was a child. And now was his chance, but would it be worth it. Accepting Ares would mean letting go of all the anger he has kept inside of him. All the hatred and disgust, all the rage and fury that has over the years consumed him. Was he truly ready to forgive Ares and start all over again? No, no he wasn't, but he was ready to at least try.

Evander looked back at Ares and merely nodded as if to seal unspoken agreement.

"I should go now" The young man then said.

"Wait" Ares called out. The moral god then reached beside him for his sword. Pulling out the weapon Ares held it out towards Evander. "Here you'll need this…It has no more power in it but it is still a fine sword" The young man stooped down gratefully accepted the sword. "Good luck son" Ares said, with a hint of pride in his voice.

"Good bye…father" Evander replied then quickly left.


	7. And so the battle begins

By the time Xena and the others had reached the Gates of Avalon the darkness had increased, but they could still make out the faces of one another. The walls of the castle were as high as the trees and by what they could tell there were only a hand full of guards on each one. Using her chakram Xena easily took care of three of the guards patrolling the wall in front of them. With ropes attached to hooks they quickly scaled the wall, leaving little time for the surprised guards to react. One by one the guards fell as Xena and the others fought their way into the castle. 

Once inside, the dozens of guards seemed to vanish out of sight; absent were the rumbling sounds of bodies hurtling onto the floor, and the clashing of swords.

"Something's not right. Do you hear that?" Xena asked, turning to Gabrielle.

"I don't hear a thing" The bard replied.

"Exactly, It's too quiet"

A sudden crashing sound from behind them called their attention. Lying on the ground was one of the guards, with Evander standing behind him.

"Nice of you to show" Hercules said.

"Thought you guys could use some help" Evander replied with a smug expression.

"So much for it being too quiet" Eve said, sarcastically.

"So any idea where that little asshole is hiding?" Evander asked.

"Not sure, why don't we ask your little friend over there" Xena replied, walking over to the guard who was now attempting to get up. "Not so fast" She said, stepping on him forcing him back down. "Where is Dahak?"

The guard said nothing choosing instead to spit in her direction.

Xena then grabbed the guard by the hair and placed her sword violently against his neck; close enough to cut the skin a little, but not close enough to draw blood. "I won't ask again" She warned.

"He's in the throne room… down this hall and to the right" The guard quickly answered.

Xena removed her sword from beneath his neck and released his hair. Getting up she signaled for the others to follow her.

"But what about the guard, we can't just leave him here. He might try to warn the others or something" Morrigan said.

"That's true, we should take him with us just in case he's lying" Evander added.

"Fine then bring him" Xena replied, with noticeable impatience in her tone.

But when they turned around the guard was gone. With no time to stand there and wonder what in Tartarus was going on, they made their way to the throne room. Inside they found dozens of Dahak's soldiers lined up against the walls, weapons in hand. The room was dimly lit with no windows and only torches as the source of light. In the center of the room there stood a throne with the dark figure of a hooded man seated in it.

"Dahak" Xena whispered, as she stared into the dark figure.

"Nice of you all to finally join us" Dahak said, as he then removed his hood to reveal his face. His eyes were as red as blood, his skin was covered in green scales and on top his head lay two deadly sharp horns, which were surrounded by long strains of black hair. "We have been waiting for you"

"What do you mean 'you've been waiting for us'?" Hercules asked, confused.

"Did you honestly believe that you all would have made it this far if I wasn't allowing you to? Such stupid mortals you are, to think that you could have actually entered my castle so easily. No you see I wanted you all here so that I wouldn't have to go through the trouble of having to find you all myself. And I am so pleased that Aphrodite decided brought you all here, I was starting to get a little impatient" Dahak replied, then paused to stand up. "Oh and Xena please accept my deepest apologizes had I known Ares would interfere I would have made certain that my warrior had stabbed both of you; So that you'd be together as you both died a slow agonizing painful death. But didn't worry I'll make certain that your death will by as excruciating as his" Dahak added, with a sinister laugh.

"You bastard" Xena said, as she started to rush towards Dahak.

"GUARDS ATTACK" Dahak yelled.

With the craving of blood in their eyes, guards from all sides swarmed around them. Xena began fighting her way to Dahak, running her sword though anyone who got in her path. She could feel her heart racing as the fury grew inside her. And at that moment all she could think about was how it would feel when she plunged her sword into Dahak's heartless body.

As Xena battled her way through the crowd of guards, Gabrielle and Eve fought side by side. Fighting two opponents, Gabrielle swiftly knocked one of them down with a low kick then turned her attention back to the other. He hurtled towards her as his sword swung rapidly in the air. Dodging then blocking the blade she grabbed his arm flipping the guard, sending him crashing into the ground.

Gabrielle was caught by surprise when she looked up to see the sharp edge of a blade heading her way. But all of a sudden a second blade appeared colliding with the first. Gabrielle stepped back and watched as Eve quickly took down the guard and ran her sword across his chest. Gabrielle muttered thanks to Eve, as both women then brought their focus back on the number of guards around them.

Hercules in the meantime had his hands full as a great deal of guards encircled him, then pounced on top him forming a mountain of bodies on the floor. Without warning the pile began moving as bodies then flew off of it and into the walls. Lifting one of the guards over his head, Hercules paused before throwing him onto a group of others. He then turned to check on Morrigan for a second. Who was handling her self-quite well as she fought against two opponents.

To the right of her were Solan and Evander who were both fearlessly battling a number of Dahak's soldiers. Without hesitation Evander dove his sword through his challengers one by one. While Solan was not as quick to kill, he instead opted to knockout his opponent with the end of his sword. The battle raged on as neither side would allow the other to succeed.

* * *

Meanwhile outside the castle Ares and Brigid were waiting impatiently, wondering what was happening to the others. Brigid paced back and forth with a look of worry on her face. Images arose in her mind, of her mother and the others in terrible trouble. She shook her head trying to get the images to disappear. Telling herself not to worry, and repeating over and over that they were all right. But the concern still lingered in her mind. It was getting late and the forest was too calm for comfort.

"What is taking them so long?" She said, putting her hands on her head. "What do you think is going on in there?" She asked turning to Ares. But he did not respond. "Ares are you okay?" She questioned walking to him and kneeling down.

Ares just lay there frozen, staring endlessly into the darkness of the forest. His short jet-black hair was untamed, with pieces of twigs and shrubs entangled in it. His once radiate skin color was gone leaving an eerie pale complexion in it's place. Purple veins covered his entire body, and his mouth was a blood red.

"Ares, Ares" Brigid called out, unsure what else to do. Knowing that if she shook him it would only cause him more pain; she just sat there hoping he would respond. "Ares can you hear me?" She asked with fear in her voice.

"Yeah" Ares finally answered, with his head still turned.

"You scared me there for a second" Brigid said, taking a deep breath. "What were you thinking about?"

"What do you think?" Ares coldly replied.

"It was merely a question. Not one for conversation, are you?"

"Figure that all by yourself… now did you"

"I think I made the wrong choice staying here" Brigid said under her breath, before getting up and walking a small distance from Ares.

Closing his eyes for a moment Ares wondered what he was doing, lashing out at Brigid for no reason at all. He wasn't angry with her, he was angry with himself for being so useless. As Xena and the others were fighting Dahak, he was lying somewhere waiting to die. So weak that he couldn't even stand up let alone carry a sword, but worst of all he was moral. Ares had imagined that if in fact he did die one day that it would be in battle with his sword in his hand, like a true warrior. Not like some wretched mortal suffering a slow excruciating death. He would rather grab a dagger and slit his own throat, than go through any more agonizing pain. But that would be selfish of him, to be so spineless and just give up. And what would Xena think if she knew what he was considering.

Shame crept into his mind at the thought of her. Who knew what was happening in that castle filled with such darkness. Xena could have been dead for all he knew, and here he was feeling pity for himself. Suddenly his thoughts wondered to Sabrina. What would happen to her if both him and Xena died? Or even worst if he survived while Xena did not. He could not envision losing her again, not after all they've been through.

All of a sudden a memory appeared before his eyes, it was only a week ago when it happened. Xena was trying to teach Sabrina how to fish. The young girl stood motionless waiting just as her mother had told her. And when she could feel a fish swimming around her feet, she rapidly reached for it. Lifting it out of the water, she held on tightly. The fish wiggled and squirmed as it splashed water in every direction. Amazement and shock could be heard in her laughter as she fought with the fish. With her mother standing behind her giving a helping hand, they threw it onto the grass. Then celebrated their victory, cheering and hollering their way out of the water. Running into her father's arms she giggled and smiled. He then lifted her onto his shoulders spinning her around and marching all over the camp.

He remembered turning to Xena who was smiling and laughing with such a glow that it even surpassed that of the heavens. How he would love to see her smile like that once again. To see her face light up with such happiness, and to see the warmth in her eyes. But at last it would seem as if it should remain a dream. For he could feel himself slowly departing from this world. Why have the fates tormented me so? He shouted in his mind.

For once in his existence he was truly happy, but now it all seemed to be vanishing before his eyes. Although he lay there dying he knew in his heart had he been given a chance to be immortal but not be with Xena, he would have rather chosen death; because at least they would have been together, even if it was only for a short time. It is better to die and have been loved, than to live forever but never truly love. He thought to himself then laughed inside. He could picture Gabrielle saying something like that, probably reading one of her poems. Just his luck it turned out the bard was actually starting to rub off on him.

Ares made a soft chuckle, which came out as a cough, he then turned to Brigid. Minus well go to Tartarus with a clear conscious. He thought to himself.

"Brigid" He called. She turned to look at him, her face appeared irritated as if anticipating a rude remark from him. "Look, I'm…I mean the way I acted…" Ares said, trying to find the words to say.

"Are you trying to say that you're sorry?" Brigid asked, with an eyebrow raised.

"Yeah something like that"

"Well I suppose I could forgive you" She replied, walking back to him. "Now see that wasn't so hard"

"Speak for your self"

"You know you're nothing how I imagined you'd be" She said, sitting down beside him.

"Oh really"

"Yeah, according to my father you're supposed to be this evil heartless creature who kills mortals for your amusement"

"Sorry to disappoint you"

"I don't get this whole thing with you and my father. Is it just jealousy or is there something more?"

"Nope, that's about it"

"But why? What's the point?"

"Lets just say I don't like to share"

"Wow I hope the wars you start have better excuses than that"

"Some do, most don't"

"But I still don't get it you're brothers aren't you?"

"Half brothers, but what's your point?"

"It's been how many years, don't you think it's time to get over it already?"

"It's not that simple"

"Is that the true reason, or is it your pride?"

Ares gave her a wry look then dismissed the whole thing. The next few moments were spent it silence.

* * *

Back inside the castle it seemed as if Xena and the others were gaining the upper hand. In a matter of minutes the room was filled with bodies of Dahak's soldiers lying on the floor. Bleeding slightly from the head and breathing heavily Xena was standing directly in front of Dahak.

"It's over" Xena said pointing her sword at him.

"On the contrary it's just beginning" Dahak replied, motioning his hand and sending Xena flying across the room. Stepping down from his throne Dahak grinned a sinister smirk.

As Xena slowly got up with the help of Eve, the others began encircling Dahak. With swords ready to strike Hercules was the first to attack. He lunged his sword towards Dahak but did not pierce his skin. Swiftly Dahak grabbed hold of Hercules' sword, turning it on its possessor he sliced Hercules on the arm. With one backhand strike Hercules was sent crashing into the wall.

Creating a giant with his mind, Evander stood back as his creation appeared before them. Dahak smiled, as if he were expecting the creature. Once complete the creature hurtled towards his target. Throwing punch after punch the creature roared with rage. But never did it meet its target. Dahak had managed to avoid each blow.

"Foolish mortals" He said, then turned to Evander. Suddenly a hatchet appeared in his hands and before anyone could utter a warning the hatchet flew into Evander's shoulder. Slowly the young man fell to his knees and onto the floor.

"EVANDER" Morrigan yelled then turned to Dahak.

With fury racing through her veins she dashed in the direction of the evil being. Swinging her sword left and right she cried out her frustration. Dahak laughed in her face as he ducked from every hit. Soon Gabrielle and Eve joined in, attacking Dahak from behind. At first it seemed like their efforts were in vein, but then gradually Dahak began slowing down. The blades were coming closer to his skin; the strikes were coming faster than before. Swinging her sword once again Morrigan sliced the skin beneath his neck. He growled in pain, and then felt the punches and blades connecting with his body.

Fear scrambled throughout his human body and the need to escape forced him to make a last attempt and flip from beneath the clutches of his attackers. Landing barely on his feet Dahak turned to find the end of Solan's sword heading for him. With no time to react Dahak felt as the end of the sword collided with his jaw, knocking him onto the floor.

Xena quickly made her way to him, kicking him in the stomach flinging him onto his back. She held her sword above him and plunged it into his chest.

"Burn in Tartarus" She said, with an evil glare. She paused for a moment then slowly walked away.

Suddenly she felt a strange gust of wind come from behind her. Spinning around she was shocked to find Dahak standing there as her sword stuck out through his chest.

"Now don't tell me you really thought it was going to be that easy to kill me" Dahak said, as he pulled out the sword from his chest.

"Why won't you die?" Xena said, before charging him.

Out of nowhere a lighten orb appeared smashing into Xena causing her to crash against the wall.

"Now is that any way to play with others?" Discord asked appearing next to Dahak. "It seems to me that you all aren't playing fair so let me even up the odds"

Without a moments notice lighten orbs emerged soaring in every direction, hitting their intended targets. One by one Hercules and the others fell. And Discord's revolting laugh could be heard echoing throughout the room.

* * *

Back up on Mount Olympus Sabrina and Adam were still in the mysterious indoor forest Aphrodite had left them in. The children soon grew sad once again as thoughts of their families entered their minds. The tiny stallion could sense the children's unhappiness as she watched them linger wearily amongst the trees.

"You think they're okay?" Sabrina asked, as she stroked Sky's fiery red mane. The tiny stallion looked up and softly nudged the young girl in response. "I think something's wrong, I feel funny"

"Yeah me too. Maybe they're in trouble" The young boy replied, with fear in his eyes.

"You want to go check the book to see if they're alright?"

"Yeah but I forgot where it was"

"Don't worry Sky knows. Don't you girl?" Sabrina said to the stallion that stood beside her.

Sky then led the children to the where the enchanted book lay dormant. Entering the room they slowly made their way to the stand, which held the closed book. At first when they opened the book the pages appeared blank but then abruptly a glow emerged from the book as the pages began flipping. After a moment they had stopped and the glow vanished as an image arose. There stood Dahak and Discord in a darkly lit room with bodies lying on the ground surrounding them. Slowly the image grew larger to reveal the faces of the bodies. The children gasped with horror as they saw Xena and the others badly beaten and attempting to get up with no success.

"They're hurt" Sabrina said, as tears began falling. "What are we going to do?"

Adam did not reply instead he backed away from the book, then sat down on the floor crumpling his self into a ball. Rocking back and forth he could feel his heart beating faster as his vision turned dark.

"Adam, did you hear me? We need to do something to help them" Sabrina said kneeling down beside him.

But again the boy did not response, he simply shook his head as he continued rocking back and forth.

"Adam this is no time to chicken out on me they need our help" Sabrina yelled, as she grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him.

"NO"

"What do you mean no. Your whole family's in trouble, don't you care?"

"I can't it's too scary" Adam replied as a tear rolled down his face.

"What happened to Hercule son of Hercules, I thought he was suppose to be all brave and strong… guess I was wrong" Sabrina said, as she stood up. "Look I'm going to go help them, if you don't want to come fine but I'm leaving"

Adam was silent and watched as Sabrina walked away from him and mounted Sky. He then slowly got up and followed her.

"Adam, you changed your mind?" She asked looking down at him.

"My name is Hercule" Adam replied, his voice shaking as he tried to hide his obvious fear.

Sabrina just nodded and let out a hand to help Adam climb on Sky.

"How are we going to get there?" Adam asked, as he tried to swallow his tears.

"With this" Sabrina answered, holding out the pendent on her necklace. The sapphire stone in the middle of the pendent sparkled in the palm of her hand, as a glow emerged from with in it. "Ready?" She asked before closing her eyes as a strange ether seemed to enclose around them. Within seconds the children found themselves inside the room where their families lay in unstable conditions. The stallion in which they were on, had extended her large dove like wings, and was now soaring above the bloodied bodies that covered the floor.

"There's my mom and dad!" The young boy on the stallion shouted as he leaped off the horse.

"Adam don't" Sabrina yelled after him, but the boy was already running to the aide of his fallen parents.

"Adam, Sabrina…what are you two…doing here?" Morrigan struggled to ask as she saw her son run and kneel down beside her and Hercules who lay unconscious.

"Mommy it's going to be okay I won't let anything happen to you two" Adam replied, as more tears come trickling down his face.

"Aww that was so sweet, aren't you just a brave little trooper" Discord said in a mocking tone.

"Stay away from my mommy and daddy" Adam shouted, as he then grabbed a sword that was lying nearby him.

Discord took a few steps closer to the boy and laughed in a shrieking tone. "What do you think you're going to do with that? Kill me?" Discord asked, and once again let out a wretched cackle.

"I'm warning you, stay away" The small child said in a shaky tone.

"Adam no run, get away from her" Morrigan shouted, reaching for her child.

"Kid, you should have ran" Discord said, striking the sword out of Adams hand. Then grabbing him by the throat.

"ADAM" Morrigan yelled, but was too weak to do anything.

"Say nighty night" Discord uttered, as she began slowly tightening her grip on the boy's throat.

"Sky hurry" Sabrina said urging the stallion on.

As the stallion flew pass Discord, Sabrina let out a large thunder bolt, which hit Discord in the side causing her to let go of Adam, and sending the goddess flying. Hitting the ground Adam began gasping for air, as he tried to steady his heart beat.

"You okay?" Sabrina asked him.

"I think so"

"Stay here with your mom, and don't try anything"

The young boy only nodded as he was in no state to start arguing.

"I'll kill that little brat" Discord cried, she got up and started making her way to Sabrina.

"No wait" Dahak's voice called out. "She's mine"

"What! No I've waited too long to get a chance at squashing that little monster" Discord exclaimed.

"I, and I alone will destroy the child. I do not need or want your assistance in this matter. Understood?" Dahak said, in a threatening tone.

"Understood" The goddess replied, clenching her teeth as she disappeared into the darkness.

Turning to Sabrina, Dahak grinned as he then vanished.

"He's gone" Gabrielle whispered, turning to Xena whom lied next to her and Eve.

"He must be getting stronger" The Warrior Princess replied, with bits worry and fear in her voice. "Sabrina you have to get Adam and yourself away from here, it's not safe" She yelled, locking eyes with the young child.

"It's okay mommy, I'll be alright" The child replied.

Sabrina directed the stallion to fly farther above the ground to watch for the dark lord. Seconds later Dahak reappeared launching a number of fireballs towards the winged horse. Soaring up and down, left and right the stallion eluded each blazing sphere. While the raven-haired girl carefully aimed her hands and fired a large thunderbolt, which rapidly made it's way to the creature of darkness.

With a wicked laughter he again vanished avoiding the thunderbolt, then reappeared across the room with a dagger in hand. Targeting it at the young child he unleash it. Too late to escape the blade the small stallion lifted it's wings and blocked the child from danger. The dagger sliced its way through the stallion's flesh causing blood to spill from within her. Gradually the horse began to fall, as she struggled to fly with just one wing.

Crashing to the ground the stallion cried out in pain. The raven-haired child fell from the horse and on to the floor. Noticing the small stallion bleeding beside her, she ran to its side.

"Sky you okay?" The child yelled. Her voice trembling and her hands shaking. "Everything's going to be fine" She said, passing her hands over the small stallion's coat, then stopping when she saw the dagger. And with a deep breath she forced her self to pull the dagger out. The stallion once again let out a trouble cry. "Shh girl it's alright" The child whispered to her wounded friend.

"What a stupid creature" Dahak said, with a cackle. "Should have just let the child get hit. Nevertheless it will not change the outcome, just prolong it"

Sabrina turned to Dahak and could feel a surge of anger running through her veins. And for an instance her crystal blue eyes seemed to become the dark brown eyes of her father. At that moment she looked as if she had change, like she was no longer Sabrina, instead now she was anger and vengeance. The now rage filled child stared at the dark lord, then began releasing thunderbolts and spheres of fire from her hands.

Just seconds apart were each as they swiftly made their way to their target. At first the dark lord easily eluded each attack. He grinned as he flipped and jumped, then vanished only to reappear in the same spot. It was as if he had wanted her to hit him, and dared her to hit him.

As frustration grew within the child the pace of the attacks only increased. Until at last a burning sphere shattered onto his chest, knocking the dark lord to the ground. Seconds later five burning orbs followed, striking him one after the other. The raged filled child slowly made her way to the injured god. Standing beside him she gasped, as she was surprised to find a grin lying on his smile. Suddenly laughter arose from him, as the child continued to look at him with confusion.

"What's wrong? Were you expecting me to be dead?" He asked, as he continued to laugh.

The child said nothing, as she began to back away. Now unsure of what to do.

Vanishing once again Dahak re-emerged in front of Sabrina. But before she could even attempt to get away, she felt the back of his hand collide with her face. Instantly she was sent flying into the air, then as she descended an orb appearing hitting her in the side. Crashing to the ground she recoil at the pain that it brought.

Using his powers Dahak glided her body back to him. He grabbed her arm and held her up as if she were a doll.

"So this is the innocent mortal that is supposed to overcome me. Not so innocent anymore are you? You can't defeat me none of you can defeat me, I am DAHAK and I WILL rule ALL" He roared.


	8. A gift from the Gods

Elsewhere upon the clouded skies and the rays of the dazzling sun, there stood the home of the Gods. Glorious and magnificent it was, as it sat towering above the clouds. But inside this fortress lie only silence as uncertainty and fear of what lied ahead coated the atmosphere. Just moments before, the Goddess of Love returned to discover the two children she was given to watch had gone down to the dark lord's castle, and were now trapped. Feverishly she went to the King and Queen, to inform them of this. 

The King and Queen now stood quietly as they watched in horror the scene of the raven-haired child they had come to love, being held in the grips of the dark lord. Time stood still and a decision was made.

The King and Queen gazed at one another, sadness and fear apparent on their face. But there was also love shimmering in their eyes, with no glimpse of regret. Holding each other in their arms a smile appeared on the Queen's face, as did the King's. And with a kiss they closed their eyes as orbs of light emerged from within them, and flew off into the sky. Slowly the King and Queen fell to their knees and onto the floor, never breaking the hold.

Above in the sky dozens and dozens of orbs appeared from every direction and merged together. They formed a large globe of light, which shinned even brighter than the sun. It hovered over the kingdom of Avalon, which was consumed in darkness. The sphere of light descended on a downward spiral towards the force field. Crashing into it the enormous orb bounced back as the earth shook with force. Gradually the force field began to weaken as the orb repeatedly returned to attack it.

* * *

As the ground began shaking below, the castle's walls rumbled with rage. Dahak turned to Xena, puzzlement and anger written on his face.

"What trickery is this?" He demanded, dropping Sabrina.

The child stumbled to the ground and cling to her sides as she winced from the pain.

Also bewildered Xena did not respond, she merely gazed at her fallen child, and through her eyes gave her comfort. Glancing towards her sister the raven-haired child froze for a moment and remembered the prayer she had taught her. Shutting her eyes she recited the words, silently uttering them to her self. As the words left her lips the anger left her heart, and the darkness no longer clouded her soul.

Feeling the child's innocence return, Dahak sharply turned back to her. "You!" He shouted. "You are the cause of all this" He said, as he lunged for her.

Using what little power she had left, the child fired a thunderbolt into Dahak's chest. As the dark lord staggered back, Sabrina started crawling as far away as her body could take her. Blood was dripping from her mouth and head, as the wound at her side was burning. She could see her vision blurring, and felt as if she would collapse any minute.

Dahak quickly regained his footing and with the rapid movement of his hand sent a fireball hurtling towards the child.

Xena began frantically trying to struggle to her feet, but as the land once again trembled she fell back to the ground.

"SABRINA" she yelled, as she and the others witnessed the scorching sphere of fire connecting with the young girl.

The child screamed out in pain as she was thrown against the wall from the impact. Disbelief struck the Warrior Princess as she saw the raven-haired child barely breathing, stained in her own blood. No, no, by the gods no! She shouted in her mind. With tear filled eyes she cursed her self for allowing this to happen, then cursed the grotesque creature that caused her this grief. If only she had the strength to get up and attack him, she would tear him limb from limb.

Pleased with his work Dahak turned his attention back the others. "Now to be rid of the rest of you" He said.

However the battle was not yet over, and the ground again shook with fury. Pieces of the castle's roof flew apart taking chunks of the ceiling with it, as the walls began crumbling. A sphere of light drifted down above them, and shined so fiercely that it was blinding at first. A beam shot out from inside the orb and touched the dying child. Within seconds the sphere had vanished and a radiant glow covered the young girl.

"The powers of the gods, but how can this be?" Dahak questioned, with a hint of anxiety in his tone.

The child arose suspended in the air, as a gust of wind flew around her. Panic and fear was evident in the dark lord, given that he stumbled while trying to back away.

"No, no I refuse to be beaten by a child" He yelled, as he launched orbs of fire at Sabrina.

But the orbs were merely deflected as if a shield protected the child. There was a blank expression on her face and a look of hypnotism in her eyes.

"DISCORD" Dahak called out, urgency ringing in his voice.

The goddess appeared with a smirk on her devilish features.

"Exterminate the child now before it's too late" He ordered.

"Thought you didn't need or want my help, remember?" She replied, as vengeance burned in her eyes and instantly she was gone, leaving the dark lord to fend for himself.

"Traitor!" Dahak roared. A suffocating feeling came to him as he turned back to the child.

At that point Sabrina swiftly lifted her hand as a ray of light transpired from within it and struck Dahak in the chest. As the light engulfed him the dark lord shrieked from the agony, as his powers were slowly drained from him. He felt as if his arms and legs were being ripped from his body, while the beat of his human heart began to slow down.

Once every trace of power had been drained from the dark lord's human form Sabrina at last lowered her hand and the ray of light disappeared. Dahak fell to his knees, gasping heavily for air, and unable to move any part of his body. Steadily Sabrina drifted down to the floor, the glow left her body taking the powers with it and leaving her in a weakened state.

With it's master defeated the castle's walls again started trembling and above Sabrina and Dahak part of the ceiling began to collapse.

"Sabrina!" Xena yelled, reaching for the child but was too far away.

At that moment she remembered the pendant Hera had given her, it was identical to the pendant on Sabrina's necklace. Xena pulled it out from inside her gauntlet, and quickly ordered Sabrina sent to her. The next second the portion of the ceiling fall as the child vanished.

Looking up, Dahak screamed as the stone plummet onto him, instantly crushing every bone of his human form.

Holding her child tightly in her arms Xena let out a sigh of relief. But the danger was not yet over, for the castle was about to collapse into it's self and take them with it. Eve and Solan struggled to reach Evander who was heavily bleeding from his wound. Xena sat up, still cradling the child, as she helped Gabrielle to her knees.

"Morrigan, can you move?" She asked, yelling through the loud pounding of the rubble falling.

"Yeah, but Hercules is unconscious" The red-haired woman replied, sitting up with an arm around her son, she turned to her husband.

"We need to get out of here, now!" Gabrielle shouted, as debris coated the air.

"What about Sabrina's necklace" Adam yelled, terror and fear causing his voice to shake.

"She's too weak, it wouldn't be safe" Xena replied.

"No, I can do it" The young girl in her arms faintly said.

"You sure, honey?" Xena questioned.

The child merely nodded, and clutched the pendant in her hand. Shutting her eyes, she concentrating what strength she had left. Glimmers and sparks appeared for a moment but vanished the next. Then reappeared again only to leave once more. Frustrated, the child began to shed tears of sadness.

Suddenly a ray of colors appeared, sent from the heavens they covered the room. Everyone could feel the warm aura, which surrounded them. And watched in awe as the colors seemed to dance as they spun all over.

Soon everything disappeared as the ether consumed them. Within seconds the colors of the ether had vanished and their surroundings came into view. Gone were the tumbling pieces of rubble and debris, the dust coated air, and the raging shaking of the castle's walls; standing in their place were the gifts of nature, the calmness of the forest, and the almost cloudless blue sky.

Looking at themselves they realized their cuts and wounds had been healed and they no longer felt fatigued. Slowly they stood up, happiness and bewilderment on their features.

Taking a second to recognize exactly where they were, Xena soon realized that they had been placed near the spot where Ares and Brigid were awaiting their return. Still carrying Sabrina in her arms, Xena quickly made her way to the campsite. With every step she took, she could feel her heart beating faster.

Thoughts of what she could find raced through her mind. What if they had been too late and Ares had not survived? What if while they were gone Ares and Brigid were attacked and both were killed? What if it didn't work and Ares was still in the terrible state she had left him? As these thoughts ran through her head, part of her didn't want to know, afraid that they could be true. But she didn't stop because the thought of not knowing would tear her apart. Besides what if he was actually safe and sound? And was waiting for her, picturing the moment when he would hold her in his arms, stare into her eyes and watch the rest of the world melt away.

Pausing for a moment she stopped. Behind the tree where she stood was the bedroll Ares was lying in. Trying to clear her head of all negative thoughts Xena closed her eyes and let out a long sigh. The child in her arms turned to her, having sensed Xena's anxiety, wrapped her arms around her mother's neck she whispered 'Don't worry mommy'. Xena made a small smile at the child, then walked from behind the tree.

They looked down at the bedroll in front of them to find no one in it. Frantically glancing around they could see no trace of neither Ares nor Brigid. 'Where could they be?' Xena said to herself. What if she was right before and Ares and Brigid had been found by some of Dahak's guards? Panic crept into her mind. What was she going to do?

Placing Sabrina down, she began looking for signs of a struggle, footsteps leading somewhere, anything that could help her figure out what had happened. As her mother examined the ground for clues, Sabrina was peeking her head into the bushes looking for her father.

"Looking for me?" A familiar voice questioned, as it's owner walking up behind them.

Xena's heart skipped a beat as she heard the voice and quickly turned around to find Ares standing there with a smile across his face.

"Daddy!" Sabrina shouted, as she ran into his waiting arms.

A tear trickled down the man's face as he lifted up his daughter, and hugged her tightly.

Xena stood there for a moment blissfully looking on. Holding Sabrina with one arm, Ares pulled Xena into the embrace with the other. She smiled at him, gazing into those dark brown orbs of his, so close to his face that she could feel the warmth of his breathe against her mouth. Her heart was once again racing and she could feel his heart doing the same. Lifting her hand she passed her fingers through his untamed hair, then began caressing his face with the slightest touches. She paused, staring at his beautiful skin, which had turned back to its normal state, then leaned in and met his lips with hers in an adoring kiss. "Ewwwwe, you guys kissed" Sabrina said, with her raven locks swaying as she tried to cover her giggles with her hands.

"I'll show you ewe" Ares replied, as he began tickling her.

The child roared with laugher as she tried to fend off the attacks of the tickle monster. Turning around, Xena noticed Brigid along with the others coming towards them. "Looks like they found Brigid" She said.

"Why do I have a feeling that they're going to start acting all mushy and stuff?" Ares asked.

"Because they are" The Warrior Princess replied, pulling away from him.

"There you guys are" Gabrielle said to Xena, then turned to the mortal god beside her. "Ares, how are you feeling? Brigid said you were doing better. But shouldn't you still be resting?" She asked, pulling him into an embrace.

"I'm fine, trust me" He replied, with a slightly weary expression.

"I told him to take it easy until I came back from checking what was causing the strange rumbling, but he wouldn't listen" Brigid said.

"Yeah, he's stubborn like that,100 percent hard headed" Xena replied.

"Hey! That hurt" Ares said, with a fake upset expression.

"It's good to see you doing better" Eve said, giving the moral god a hug.

Solan, Morrigan, Adam and an initially hesitant Evander followed suite, also embracing the moral god. Hercules merely stood there with his teeth clenched, staring daggers into his half brother.

"Okay that's enough touchy feely stuff for me for one day. So what happened in there, and what are the kids going here?" The Ares questioned.

"Well if it wasn't for these two little hero's Dahak would still be loose" Morrigan answered.

"Alright that's my girl! The little warrior" Ares exclaimed, as he tossed Sabrina in the air and swiftly caught her in a gentle embrace.

"I don't know how we would have gotten out if Sabrina hadn't used her powers to teleport us out of there" Solan said.

"Yeah but how did you heal our cuts? I didn't know you had that ability" Eve said to the small child.

"But I didn't" Sabrina answered.

"What do you mean you didn't? Of course it was you, who else could it have been?" Gabrielle asked.

"I don't know, but it wasn't me" The child replied again.

All of a sudden a blinding flash appeared and before they knew it, dozens and dozens of Olympian gods and goddesses were lying on the ground before them. Slowly each god stood up as they carefully observed their surroundings.

"What in Zeus' name is going on?" Gabrielle questioned, with a slight gasp.

"Aphrodite, what has happened? What are all the Olympians going down here?" Ares asked the confused looking goddess.

"I don't know, one second we were on Olympus then the next we were here. I guess I should be relieved, I thought we were going to die" She replied.

"Die? What are you talking about?" Xena asked.

Murmurs of confusion sprung throughout them. Terror could be seen on the already frighten features of the Olympians. Whispers of unrequited questions started pouring into the air.

Abruptly the wind began to howl, and the trees began to sway as thunder could be heard from the heavens.

"I believe we can answer that" A voice arose coming from the sky. Followed by four bright orbs of red, yellow, pink, and blue light suspended above them.

"As some of you may know we are The Elements, the surveyors of mankind and the protectors of life. For some time now we have been well aware of the threat of Dahak becoming free. That was why we enlisted the help of the gods; we knew that whoever was destined to defeat Dahak would need their help. Which brings us to the reason why all the Olympians have been sent down here. We had met with the Gods and informed them that Sabrina was the chosen one, and if she were to win against Dahak she would need all their powers transmitted to her.--" Savannah said, still in the form of the red glowing sphere.

"Hang on a second!" Deimos yelled interrupting the fiery maiden. "I never agreed to help these revolting mortals. I demand my powers be returned to me at once" He roared.

"Deimos you are not exactly in a position to be making any such demands. Besides when Zeus told you and the other gods to leave while he and Hera made the decision; by doing as he commanded and leaving, you and the others granted Hera and Zeus the permission to decide for you. Hence the reason why you no longer have your powers" Lena replied.

Deimos stared daggers into the floating orbs. He was about to say something, but then remembered what happened the last time he angered them. He slowly backed away while clinching his jaw.

"But wait, you told us that if our powers were sent to Sabrina the reign of the Gods would end. Explain to me why we are here. Was the notion of our demise simply a lie?" Hera questioned.

"No, it was not, for the truth is all we stated was that your reign would end, that did not mean you all would perish. We decided to spare your lives and instead have you become mortals" April answered.

"We have been turned into mortals?" Athena stated.

"Yes, but we also realized that becoming mortal is an enormous fall from having been a god. Plus being gods have made most of you do foolish and careless things with no worries of repercussions. And no doubt many of you have enemies that would love the chance to make you pay for those actions. With that being said we have made some but not all of you demi-gods, to help you adjust to mortal life and be able to protect your selves" The wind deity replied.

"So all of you knew Sabrina was the chosen one?" Xena questioned, with anger apparent in her voice as she gazed towards Aphrodite.

"Xena you see, I wanted to tell you, I really did but each time I tired I couldn't get my self to say it. With everything going on including Ares and Dahak, I didn't want you to have to worry about Sabrina also. Xena please don't be mad at me, this time I totally had your best interest at heart" Aphrodite pleaded with the Warrior Princess whose face was stern but soon softened.

Xena took a few deep breaths trying to calm herself and fight the urge she had to beat down any Olympian she could get her hands on. Now was not the time to release her anger, Sabrina was safe and that was all that mattered. Xena looked back at the former goddess and could only nodded as to indicate she forgave her.

Linking arms with the Warrior Princess, Aphrodite squeezed her arm slightly and giggled with relief. The last thing she needed was for Xena to be pissed off at her, because she knew all too well how Xena expressed her anger towards others, not to mention the gods.

"What is this, some kind of game? We were just disposable objects to be used in your little plan, weren't we?" Zeus asked, resentment burning in his eyes.

"Well….yeah pretty much. Why what's wrong, haven't you always treated humans the same?" Angel replied.

The former King of the Gods stood there in silence choosing not to respond to the accurate allegation. The Elements were correct, as a god he did whatever he pleased and never had to suffer the consequences. But now he must live the rest of his natural life among the creatures he has for so long mistreated.

"So now we have to live down here, among mortals and with only half our powers?…You got to be kidding me. Do you really expect me to be able to still look this good with only a demi-gods powers?" Aphrodite asked, with dread written on her face.

"Well would you rather be dead?" Angel questioned back.

"Good point" The former goddess of love replied, changing her facial expression.

"After Dahak's human form was destroyed, it was you who got us out and healed us, not Sabrina" Eve stated.

"That is correct" Lena replied.

"What will happen now? Is Dahak gone for good or not?" Hercules asked.

"Dahak represents all that is evil, he is the embodiment of hatred, anguish, and violence. He will never truly be killed, for evil cannot fully be destroyed. There will always be hatred and aggression in the hearts of many. And within that hatred evil will live on" Savannah answered.

"What was the point of this, if Dahak can not die" Morrigan questioned.

"The battle of good and evil is a never ending war. If Dahak had not been stopped, then evil would have gained the upper hand. The world would have begun a downward spiral into total darkness. And even if the gods did not lose their powers, they would have been in no shape to fight against Dahak. What happened today was only one of the many struggles between those who fight for good and those who fight for evil. And luckily for us this time good prevailed. So you see, your efforts were not in vein, because of all of you the world is safe, for now that is" The blistering crimson orb answered.

"Since Discord was primarily behind this what will happen to her?" Ares questioned.

"Oh don't worry about her, she'll be enjoying an eternity in Tartarus" April answered.

"If you are truly The Elements then why not show your faces and tell us your names, what potential harm could come of this?" Brigid asked.

"You know our names and as for our faces you need not know, for soon most of you will soon forget" April replied.

"I doubt that would be true, how could one possibly forget such a thing"

"Trust me, you will"

"Besides our role in this is over. And it appears as if none of you will need our help any longer" Angel said.

"But if ever you are in great trouble we will be there, just call our names and one of us will appear" April said aloud. Then whispered to her self. "If you remember them after we erase your memory of us that is"

"What was that?" Eve questioned, having heard a low murmur come from the rose-lighted orb.

"Oh nothing" April replied smiling, even through she knew they could not see it.

"If I may simply pose a question. How do you expect humanity to live without us? There needs to be higher beings ruling over this land, with us gone there will be an unbalance of sorts" Hades pronounced.

"You needn't worry about that, because you have already been replaced. Unlike you this being represents good in it's purest form. And their servants are functioned as caretakers of humanity. This being will be known as not simply just a god, but The God. Although with the existence of this good there emerges a new evil. Dahak will soon be transformed into an even more sinister being, but worry not now for there is still some time before that will occur" Lena replied.

"If I may be so bold to ask. If we had already been replaced then why did we have to help in defeating Dahak? Why couldn't this new God stop him instead?" Poseidon questioned.

"But don't you see that's exactly what happened" Angel replied.

"I don't understand what you mean" Poseidon said.

"This god, The God, is older then you and even us. It is simply that they have chosen now to reappear. We may be exceptionally powerful, but even we take orders from a higher being" The oceanic orb answered.

"So you mean you were told to do all the things you did?" Xena questioned.

"Not exactly, we were told to aid mankind in stopping Dahak. The whole thing with the gods and what not, were our ideas" Savannah replied.

Silence abruptly grew upon the crowd of mortals and former gods. It was evident that most if not all of the ex-Olympians were outraged that their immortality and powers were taking away from them. Anger and fury had been building up inside them, but many would not dare to voice their opinions. For they were still in the presence of the Elements, and feared what would happen if they angered them.

But the anger was too strong for some, such as Hades, who could no longer stand the endless silence.

"This is not fair" Hades cried out, but tried to control his temper as to not come off as extremely angered.

"How so?" April asked, in an almost mocking tone.

"Please don't take this the wrong way. But why couldn't you just stop Dahak by yourself. Why didn't you keep us out of this?" Hades asked.

"You little ungrateful piece of scum, how dare you speak to us that way after we restored your pitiful li--"

"April shut up" Lena whispered, knocking into the pink-lighted sphere.

"What is she talking about?" Athena questioned.

"She was talking about our decision to allow you to live, that was all" Lena answered. But as she looked at the once goddess of wisdom, she could tell that Athena did not completely believe her answer.

The memory of the twilight of the gods was removed from the minds of all the Olympians, except for Hera, Ares and Zeus. So the other Olympians had no recollection of ever dying, and The Elements wanted to keep it that way.

"As much as we would love to remain here with all of you and continue this little conversation, I am afraid it is time for us to take our leave" Savannah said.

"Wait, you can't just put us down here and leave us. We have no idea what to do now!" Zeus exclaimed.

"You Olympians have been here for thousands of years, and you mean to tell us that you all have absolutely no idea of what to do next. Here let me point you in the right direction. First locate a home, settle down or continue to travel. Then find a job take care of yourselves and each other. And last but not least, the most important thing stay out of trouble. And the rest shall fall in place" The fiery sphere replied.

"That is all?" Zeus questioned.

"Just about. And besides luckily for you all, you'll have Xena and the others to help you adjust to mortal life"

"Who?" Xena asked, in a teasing tone.

And for the first time since the conversation first begun, a smile became apparent on faces of the mortals and former gods. Letting out a chuckle, the tension decreased a bit.

The Elements once again said their farewells and departed. Soon the crowd of ex-gods released the anger, which had been building up inside of them.

"What, were you out of your mind!" Deimos yelled at Zeus and Hera. "How could you two make such a stupid decision? Do you realize what you've done? Now we are powerless in a world of mortals. We were not meant to be their equals. We should still be on Olympus right now, but no we are down here doomed to live a mortal's life; short and agonizing"

"Deimos I may no longer be a god, but you will not dare speak to me that way" Zeus roared.

"Why? What will you do about it? Like you said, you are no longer a god" Deimos replied tauntingly.

"Why you little mongrel"

"Face it Zeus you have power over us any more. I knew this whole thing wasn't a good idea. And I said it from the beginning. So tell me former Olympians are you truly pleased with what your King and Queen had decided for you?" Deimos shouted amongst the crowd.

Murmurs soon arose and voices backing up Deimos could be heard across the crowd. Arguments from both sides echoed in the forest. And the tension only grew as tempers flared. As all hope seemed to be lost a voice of reason rang out over them.

"LISTEN!" Gabrielle cried out. And suddenly all was quiet. "Why are you wasting your time fighting over this. Don't you see there is no point to it. The past is the past you cannot change it, so why dwell on it. And besides if Dahak had won then like they said you all wouldn't have stood a chance against him. The way I see it is that if Hera and Zeus didn't decide for the gods to help, then you all would have faced a far worst fate than mortal life"

After Gabrielle had finished, the group remained quiet. Many of the former Olympians agreed with her reasoning. As it was obvious that the building tension between them had finally died down, Deimos grated his teeth and cursed underneath his breath realizing he had lost.

The remainder of the day consisted of awkward silence and a number of arguments between the unlikely groups of people. With most of the ex-gods only partially powerless they saw fit that the mortals should serve them, seeing how they were in their minds still superior to them. This brought on more urging but was the least of their problems, for the former Olympians also wanted to take revenge upon each other.

Over the centuries all of the gods have in one way or another fought with each other. Now that they were mortal it meant that they could die, and that one could easily get rid of another whom had in the past angered them. With constant fights beginning among the ex-gods, Xena and the others had their hands full with struggling the keep the peace.


	9. The end and a new begining

Meanwhile away from the chaos Ares and Evander were talking. Uneasiness and amnesty could be sensed in the air, as father and son stood facing one another. 

"So what now?" The young man questioned.

"I don't know" Ares replied, then noticed the look of discontent on his son's face once the words had left his lips. "Well if you want you could stay with us" He quickly added.

"I'm not too sure about that" Evander answered, with a snigger.

"You never know it might be kind of fun"

"Well… if your going to beg I guess I could hang around for a while"

"Lets just get one thing straight, I wasn't begging" Ares stated.

"Fine then what do you call it?" The young man questioned.

"I was merely trying to reason with you"

"Oh of course that was it, how could I have made such a big mistake" Evander said sarcastically.

"You know you're not too big for me to take you down" Ares warned jokingly.

"Well bring it on old man" Evander taunted, with a smirk.

"Did you ever notice that you have a really big mouth" Ares said, smiling as he looked at the young man before him.

"I guess I got that from you" Evander replied, as they both then broke out in laughter. "Oh yeah I almost forgot, here's your sword back" He then said.

"You can go ahead and keep it"

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I'll just have another one made, besides you were it well. Not as well as I do but reasonably well" Ares replied.

Glancing to his side, Ares noticed Hercules wandering among the forest trees. Pausing for a moment Ares contemplated the thought of confronting him.

"Evander if you don't mind I need to talk to someone real quick" The former war god said to his son.

"Yeah, go ahead" Evander replied, before walking off.

Gradually Ares made his way towards Hercules, while unsure of what to say.

"What do you want?" The golden-haired half god asked, with a look of hatred on his face.

"Need to talk" Ares replied, blankly.

"I don't think there's anything else that needs to be said"

"Look, I hate you and you hate me, it's a fact and that's never going to change so we minus just live with it. But I don't want you questioning my motives with Xena" The former war god stated.

"Well that's too bad, cause the way I see it there's nothing you can do about it"

"Fine you keep on thinking what you want, just know that you're wrong about me" Ares said, then turned to leave.

"If that's so true then prove me wrong. Say how you really feel about her. Or are you scared to?" Hercules questioned.

"What is it with you and getting me say how feel about her? Is this some game to you, to get me to admit I'm in love or something?" Ares replied, turning back towards him.

"No it's not, I just don't trust you that's all. You've gone so many terrible things to her in the past, what makes me think that this not just some scheme you thought of"

"The only scheme I ever had was to get her back one way or another. I never meant to hurt her, things just happened that way"

"This isn't some stupid plot, cause if it is--"

"You'll make me pay, I get it"

Hercules paused for a moment staring into the eyes of the man in front of him. And for the first time since the last couple of days, he looked deep into his eyes and saw a human being.

"Fine" Hercules reluctantly replied, deciding to somewhat accept the former war god's explanation. He then began to walk away.

"…Yes" Ares suddenly uttered.

"What?" Hercules asked, turning to him.

"I truly do love her" Ares replied, looking at him.

The golden-haired half god only nodded then turned around and walked away. And as he made his way further from his brother, a smile could be seen appearing on his face.

* * *

In the meantime Xena had strolled away from the chaotic group of former Olympians, in hopes of contacting The Elements. Seconds after she called them, flashes of light appeared before her and the four Elements emerged from within them.

"You rang?" Lena said, a glimmering smile present in her features.

"Yes, I didn't get a chance to before, but I wanted to thank you" Xena replied.

"She's happy, see I told you the sprinkle dust would work, and you were all worried about nothing" April said, leaning in towards Savannah.

"You weren't supposed tell her that" The fiery maiden whispered to April, after elbowing her in the side.

"Why'd you do that for? What does it matter if she knows about it?"

Savannah merely shook her head and signed, choosing not to replied to her sister's questions.

"Wait a minute, what's sprinkle dust?" The warrior princess asked, confused.

"Oh it's nothing really" The thunder dominating beauty replied.

"What's the point in lying to her, she's probably going to find out sooner or later" Angel said.

Lena and Savannah both gestured her hands as if to say they no longer cared.

"So anyway sprinkle dust is my little creation, which when showered over people can make them calm, or in some cases make them get busy. If you know what I mean" April said, with a wink.

"Yeah, I think I do" Xena replied.

Suddenly the clamor of the constant bickering of the ex-gods increased, and the sounds of crashing objects and small explosions could be heard echoing throughout the forest.

"Do you guys think you could use some of that sprinkle dust stuff on them?" Xena questioned, then quickly added. "I just mean to calm them down of course"

"I guess, if the two tight pants over there don't mind" Angel replied.

"By all means go ahead" Savannah said.

Within seconds The Elements had vanished, and then abruptly all the commotion had ceased. Xena returned to the camp to find everyone simply standing there talking to each other as if they were never fighting to begin with. She couldn't help but laugh at the sight of the ex-gods actually getting along with not just themselves but also the mortals.

Ares had just returned to the campsite and was stunned to say the least by the spectacle before him. He looked at Xena and saw her trying to cover her mouth as she laughed. Obviously she had some part in whatever happened here. Ares thought to him self as he made his way to her.

"Mind telling me what happened here?" Ares asked, coming up from behind her and placing his hands on her hips.

"Lets just say I asked The Elements for a favor" She replied, trying to stop laughing.

"Well since things seem to be peaceful over here, what say we go and disappear for a while" Ares said, in a seductive tone.

"I'm not sure, you never know how long this serenity is going to last"

"Exactly my point, so lets go before it ends" Ares said, pulling her close against him and kissing her neck.

"You seem in a hurry" She replied, with a smirk as she could feel the bulge growing in his pants.

"You have no idea" He said, then turned her around and met his lips with hers in a longing kiss.

"I guess we shouldn't waste anymore time then" She replied, lifting an eyebrow.

Ares only smirked as he wrapped his arm around her, and they disappeared among the trees.


	10. A sort of epilog

High above the skies, within the heart of the Opalachian star, in a magnificent room where the floors were entirely made of marble and the walls were covered in pure gold, lie The Elements. Who were discussing the success of their recent carefully crafted plan. 

"That went well, if I may say so myself" Angel said, as she lounged beside Lena on a cream colored sofa.

"In deed" The thunder ruling being replied.

"I was wondering what was the reason Solan and Serenity didn't work out?" The Oceanic beauty asked.

"You don't know? Well it turned out that Serenity left him for a centaur" Savannah answered.

"A centaur!" Angel exclaimed.

"I guess Solan wasn't the kind of stud she was looking for" April said, as she let out a giggle.

"In any case, how would that work, a centaur and a woman?" Angel questioned.

"Trust me you don't want to know" Lena replied, trying to contain her laughter.

"Anyway lets change the subject shall we" Savannah loudly pronounced.

"Fine then I had another question anyway. What was the deal with the light you placed in Xena's stomach?" The ocean ruling maiden inquired.

"What are you talking about?" The thunder Element replied.

"Remember it was right after Xena and Ares were first 'together'" Angel answered, making quotation marks with her fingers.

"Oh that, I was just making sure Ares' little soldiers found their way to the target"

"You sure you're not really Sabrina's father? Lena be truthful now. Is there something you want to tell us?" Angel questioned, giving her sister a bogus concerned looking expression.

"Now that I think of it Sabrina dose kind of look like you" The wind deity added in.

"You two are the most brainless, mentally impaired individuals I know" Lena replied, in an aggravated tone.

"And another thing how come you and Savannah insisted that we couldn't interfere physically, but then we could still place that arrow covered in dragon snakes venom in that guys sack knowing he would shoot it at Xena?"

"You and your questions are starting to get on my nerves" Lena replied.

"Whatever just answer the question"

"….Anyway so what ever happened to that little rat Deimos?" Lena asked Savannah.

"Well lets just say I took care of him" The fierce fire dominating maiden replied.

"Hey! are you ignoring me?" Angel shouted out, as she stood up.

"What do you mean 'took care of him'?"

"HELLO I'M TALKING HERE!"

"Well I decided to find him a soul mate"

"A soul mate? That doesn't sound like a bad thing"

"It is when that soul mate is a 250 pound male pig"

"I'M STILL TALKING OVER HERE!"

"No you didn't"

"Yes I did" Savannah replied, as they both began to laugh.

"HEY! My question was never answered"

"Just give up they're not going to listen to you" April said walking over to her twin.

Angel released a huge sigh and sat back down, deciding to take April's advice and quit.

"You know what I just realized, if it wasn't for my sprinkle dust this plan wouldn't have even worked" April said, proudly.

"Yeah right" Savannah replied, rolling her eyes.

"Is that jealousy I hear" April said, making a hand gesture to her ear.

"You wish. We'll see how much you'll be bragging about that sprinkle dust, when Xena figures out it was your sprinkle dust that made her lose control in the first place and sleep with Ares that time in the woods"

"She won't"

"Oh really, are you sure about that? After all you did open your big mouth and tell her what sprinkle dust was"

April's face suddenly turned pale as the realization that Savannah could be right began to sink in.

"Don't worry about it. I mean what can she do, you're an Element remember" Angel said, trying to set her twin's mind at ease.

"Yeah you're right I am an Element, I can't be killed" The wind deity replied, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Yeah but isn't that the same thing the gods said, and look at them now" Savannah said, putting on a mock troubled expression.

"You are so evil" April uttered.

"Me? Oh why ever would you say such a thing?" Savannah replied, trying to stop from smiling but couldn't help it and started laughing. "Okay but seriously I doubt you have anything to worry about, just take a deep breath. She probably won't even care if she did find out" Savannah added once she had stopped laughing.

"Well nevertheless, everything worked out just fine" Lena said, trying to stop the bickering.

"So will the lovely couple live happily ever after?" Angel questioned.

"Far from it" Savannah replied.

"What do you mean 'far from it'?" The oceanic beauty inquired.

"According to the versions I've been getting lately. I see their life together filled with troubles and dilemmas. Fights and arguments occurring numerous times, tempers rising, hostility growing, and feelings hurt….But then at the same time I see so much peace and love between them. I see quiet nights where they sit alone holding each other closely, just staring at the sky in all its beauty. Moments where they look at each other and all the world seems to vanish, and for a moment they are the only ones there. I see happiness in their eyes, and in their hearts. Like all relationships there can never be the good without the bad. So will they live the fairy tale ending of happily ever after? No, but they will be happy"

: >:THE END: >:

Note: This was the last part of "The Plan on The Elements" story, if you liked this story thenplease leave a review.


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